The Samurai Family II: Here We Go Again
by Miss DJ Classy B
Summary: Sequel to The Samurai Family. The samurais have been reunited for about five months now. Those five months have been very... interesting. Lately things have been peaceful though. How long is this peace going to last? Do the samurais have more drama to go through? More laughs? Here we go again... Memily, Kia, Lauren/OC, Antonio/OC, Jayden/OC.
1. Here We Go Again

_Hola! Miss Classy here with The Samurai Family II: Here We Go Again! Are you excited? Because I am!_

_So, you're probably wondering why I didn't just keep on making chapters on the prequel to this._

_Reason 1: While I was typing chapter 38, I was thinking, "Wow, it's like the story is ending."_

_Reason 2: The Samurai Family focuses a lot on Mia's pregnancy, Lauren's first boyfriend, and Mike and Emily's marriage. You know how long that took? 38 chapters (I tried to get 40…)! Okay, that's not long compared to other stories, especially the ones that reach 50 - 100 chapters. But think about it, Mia isn't pregnant anymore, Mike and Emily have been married for two months, and Lauren's relationship with Cody is starting to mature. Don't you think that calls for a part II? Did I make any sense? ._._

_For the people reading this like, "What the hell?": Um, I recommend reading The Samurai Family. Reading this first might confuse you. But whether or not you decide to read the prequel, and this story sparked your interest… Hi! I hope you enjoy this story! :)_

_Okay, enough of my super long author's notes. Here we go again…_

* * *

_Disclaimer: I do not own Power Rangers (Super) Samurai._

"Sleep well, honey." Mia whispered to her daughter after making her comfortable in her crib. Like most babies, the long ride home took its toll on Breezie and put her to sleep. "I hope you like your room."

Mia smiled warmly at her little bundle of joy and picked up a baby monitor from a dresser that's closest to the crib. She didn't plan on staying in the quiet nursery so she turned on the device before leaving. This way she could know when Breezie woke up without having to keep her eyes on her. There was no point in leaving the door open while Breezie slept but Mia kept it open just a crack. It made her feel better about not being by her daughter's side. Since she woke up at the Shiba house, Breezie has always been within her reach.

She yawned and stretched her arms as she made her way to the living room, where Kevin was already sitting on the couch. He seemed to be in deep thought. It was either that or he was having fun staring at a television screen that wasn't displaying anything.

"I'm tired." Mia said, snapping Kevin out of his thoughts. She sat on his lap and wrapped her arms around his neck.

"I thought you were the one that was sleeping for week." Kevin replied. He placed his hands on her waist. "It feels good to hold you again without a bulging stomach in the way."

Mia giggled slightly before playfully nudging her husband in the ribs. Her pregnancy wasn't easy for her and the amount of weight she gained didn't help at all. The room fell silent again as Mia and Kevin dreamily gazed into each other's eyes. So much crap has happened to them in the past few months but they managed to dodge the obstacles with each other and with the Samurai Family.

"I feel… different." Mia spoke up, breaking the silence.

"Me too." Kevin agreed. He looked at the baby monitor Mia set on the coffee table. "Can you believe there's someone else in this house?"

Mia shook her head. "I'm still trying to warm up to the fact. I hope that person stays in here until she's eighteen though. I kind of like her."

"I like her name."

"She's definitely going to be a _fly_ kid in school with a name like that."

Mia and Kevin looked at each other and laughed.

"I really missed seeing you happy so much." Kevin told her. "I'm glad I got to keep my wife _and_ my daughter."

"About that…" Mia gave Kevin a serious expression. "When Catherine was giving me a checkup yesterday, of course we got into a conversation about how I felt… but then that conversation led to talking about how you felt."

"What do you mean?"

"She said that you were losing faith in me and you almost gave up. She also said you wished we decided to have kids at a later date so Ji could warn us of the consequences and you wouldn't have to lose me. I don't know about you but I think Breezie entered this world with good timing. We married each other almost four years ago and have been wanting kids ever since."

Kevin sighed. He should've seen this coming. He didn't quite explain every event in detail that happened to Mia while she was on her death bed. He's never really been the one to focus too much on the past. He liked to keep going, putting bad memories behind him.

"I did." Kevin couldn't lie to her. It would just cause more unnecessary drama he doesn't need, especially since things were starting to calm and get better.

"Kevin, I know you love me but… I would die for Breezie. Now that I know how perfect she came out… I would do anything to make her life happy with or without me. I left her in good hands, right?"

"Yes, you did. I would die for her too Mia. It's just… I was having a hard time coping without you. I've known you longer than Breezie. Since we got married, apart from work, everywhere I went, you went with me. Think about it, you would feel the same way."

"I would." Mia nodded. "I'm glad we're on the same page again."

"Two great minds think alike."

"Exactly."

* * *

Mike walked down a hallway, leading to his dance studio at the recreation center. Evany gave him a voicemail a couple of days ago and just today he called her back. He's glad Evany is serious about learning the choreography now. He's planning on inviting parents for a performance soon to show them how much their child has progressed. And with a family of high dance expectations like Evany's, he's more than willing to help her improve.

"You wear a lot of green." Evany said, leaning on the door to the studio.

"You wear a lot of pink." Mike laughed and opened the door with a key. He knew it wouldn't take too long for his students to catch on to his fashion choices. They didn't know it but he was a green Power Ranger. He's naturally drawn to the color.

"Pink's a cool color." Evany shrugged. She dropped her school bag by the wall and walked out to the middle of the floor.

"Is pink your favorite color?" Mike asked her, pushing a CD into his stereo system.

"Yeah, why?"

"I have a friend that loves pink." Mike gestured for Evany to sit and he sat across from her. "She's really tough. She recently just had a baby after a… unhealthy pregnancy. When I met her five years ago, we were living together with some other friends. She really loves to cook. She cooked for us whenever she got the chance to. You know what the problem with that was?"

"What?"

"She's a terrible cook. And guess what? Her mom can cook, her dad can cook, and even her brother that's five years younger than her can cook better than her. My friends and I used to hide our disgust so we wouldn't hurt her feelings."

"Really? What happened?" Evany wasn't expecting a story and she honestly didn't care but when Mike mentioned the second half of the story, she got very intrigued.

"Well, we eventually told her we didn't like her cooking." Mike answered his student. "She wasn't sad about it. She said that she always suspected she was a bad cook. You know what she did about it?"

"She stopped cooking?"

"Nope, she enrolled into a culinary academy. She worked very hard too. The next time my friends and I met up with her, she blew our minds. We never knew it was possible for her to improve her cooking skills. Now she only has one more year of culinary school until she gets her degree."

"Wow… I want to be like her."

"Evany, you told me one of your brothers teach hip-hop. Why didn't you join his class?"

Evany stared at the ground. "Chad, my brother, he… he offered me to join his class. He thought I was like the rest of the family and I picked up on dances quickly. I turned him down. I didn't want to disappoint him or anyone in the family."

Mike nodded slowly, letting the information sink in. From what he can tell, Evany is very insecure, especially about dancing. She won't even talk to her own family about it.

"Have you ever danced at home, in your room, when no one is watching?"

"Yeah."

Mike nodded again. "Do you love to dance?"

"More than anything in the world!"

"Do you love hip-hop and R&B?" Mike asked. There are many different genres of dance. What's the point in teaching her hip-hop if she doesn't like hip-hop?

"Yeah."

"Good. We're already making progress." Mike stood up and held out his hand for Evany to take. "Let's start with some simple moves."

* * *

"Thanks." Antonio told a cashier at the ice cream shop. Jayden, Lauren, and Cody all decided to enjoy the sunny weather and eat outside so he picked up a tray to carry the ice cream he ordered them. On his way to the table though, a short woman bumped into him, causing his quick reflexes to catch his tray before it feel and made a mess.

"I'm so, so, sorry!" The woman exclaimed. She wore big glasses, and a rather modern vintage, floral skirt. "Do you need me to get you any napkins, or more spoons…?"

"Hey, no harm done." Antonio rested his hand on the startled lady. He gestured to the tray. Everything the cashier gave him was where he put it, except a little closer to the edge of the tray from the sudden collision.

"Oh… um, I'm just going to go now."

"Are you okay?" Antonio asked but the woman didn't hear him. She was already in the ice cream shop. The gold samurai shook his head and made his way to the table his friends chose while he got the ice cream.

"_Who runs the world?"_ Lauren sang, putting one of her earphones in her ear.

"Squirrels." Antonio chuckled as he gave everyone their ice cream.

Lauren rolled her eyes. "Who's that _squirrel_ you ran into?"

"Yeah, seems like you scared the crap out of her." Cody said.

"I don't know." Antonio replied. "She accidentally bumped into me and freaked out."

"That's strange." Jayden commented. "Maybe she's antisocial."

"Maybe…" Antonio looked back at the door to the ice cream shop. He watched as doors swung open, revealing the same lady that bumped into him. She was licking ice cream off of the cone while she kept a book tucked under one of her arms.

_Woo! How's that for a new beginning? I'm not going to promise anything this week but I want to try updating every Saturday (and another day I'm not sure about right now). This way I can relieve myself of pressure to update and keep my school work out of my FanFictions. Please review! :)_


	2. Get-Togethers

_Thanks for the kind reviews! Sorry for the slightly late update. My older sister had a baby April 4, 2013 and then my step-mom had a baby April 6, 2013. Cool, right? Heh, just thought I'd share that with you guys._

_Here's the new chapter! I had a very relaxing Saturday so this chapter was born…_

In the wind and water household, Kevin and Mia were getting ready to see their parents and Terry for a family get-together. The De-Tiege and Wantanabe's still think that Mia's carrying a baby so they are in for a big surprise when Mia walks in without a huge belly and with a small, two weeks old human in her arms. Kevin was a little nervous because he never told them about Breezie's birth on the day it happened but Mia assured him his parents would understand.

"Good afternoon my little nugget." Kevin greeted his daughter. He took her out of her crib and sat in a rocking chair in the middle of the nursery. Mia walked by and bent down to kiss Breezie.

"Are you excited to meet your grandparents?" Mia tickled Breezie's stomach. She made her way to one of Breezie's dressers and pulled a pink dress out of it. "I think she should wear this."

"That doesn't even fit her yet." Kevin shook his head. "I think the blue one with a butterfly is nice. My mom likes butterflies."

Mia pulled the blue dress that Kevin was talking about out of the dresser. She held it in her right hand and held the pink one in her left hand. She analyzed both of the tiny dresses and smirked at her husband. He smirked back.

"Purple." They chorused.

Mia quickly folded both of the dresses in her hands and placed them back in the drawer before replacing them with a purple dress. She smiled at the color. She wasn't very red but pink could still produce a shade of purple with blue. She hopes Breezie embraces her and Kevin's colors but also embraces purple. The nighlok are finally sealed away for good and it's about time a samurai stepped out in a different color. It broke samurai tradition but she already broke tradition by marrying Kevin anyways. Tradition is important but sometimes it changed for beneficial reasons.

* * *

At the beach, the sun was shining on Emily and Mike as they held hands, walking side by side on the boardwalk. They were happy with the peace they earned. Since the day they left the Shiba house after finding the black flower, they've been busy with work.

Emily was stuck in a clothing store for hours, trying to make costumers and her boss happy, especially since she was gone for so much days. Mike usually taught Evany, as well as his whole class, in the afternoon because that's when they were out of school but next week that's going to change. His students will be on summer break and will be wanting morning classes too. But although it was exhausting sometimes, Mike and Emily enjoyed their jobs. It also got them closer to their main goal right now; to pay for Emily's future college classes. She already made it clear to hold off having kids until another couple of months.

"So how are things going with Evany?" Emily asked Mike. "Is she getting better?"

"She still has trouble remembering some of the moves but she's getting better." Mike replied. He's seen Evany a couple of times that week and even though she wasn't perfect yet, she definitely made an improvement since she first started dancing.

"Oh, that's good."

"I'm currently arranging a day for parents to come and watch in two weeks. Want to tag along?"

"Yeah, sure, I'd love to." Emily smiled. Her and Mike continued to walk down the boardwalk calmly, enjoying the weather. Not too far in the distance, they could see Antonio putting a temporary closing sign on his family's restaurant. Before he could successfully close the door though, he saw Emily and Mike speed-walking to him.

"Hurry, or I'll lock you two out." Antonio chuckled at the couple. Once they got to the door, Antonio welcomed them into the restaurant, where Jayden and Lauren were having a drink at one of the tables while Latin music played in the background.

Antonio took a deep breath of the ocean salt as he hung up the closing sign. He looked out at the boardwalk. Surprisingly, he saw the lady he bumped into a few days ago. This time she wore ripped jeans. She was alone, reading a magazine on a bench.

"_It's just a coincidence Antonio. Nothing more." _Antonio thought to himself. He shook his head and went back into the restaurant.

"How's it going guys?" Antonio asked Mike and Emily as he took a seat at the table next to them. "Would you like something to drink?"

"Oh, we're fine." Emily answered for her and Mike. "How are you guys doing?"

"Great." Jayden gestured to his and Lauren's glasses of wine. "We're celebrating the end of the school year and the beginning of summer."

"Nice, I'll join you guys next year." Emily told the fire siblings. "By the way, I called Mia earlier. She said the family is healthy and they are on their way to her mother's house."

"Aw, it warms my heart to see their family doing good after so much heartbreak." Antonio said.

Mike chuckled at Antonio's comment. "You and Jayden totally need to join the girlfriend club."

"High-Five!" Lauren laughed, slapping the palm off her hand against Mike's. "I have been trying to get those two 'forever-alone' to get a girl for a while now." She rolled her eyes at her housemates. "Lazy-asses."

"I am not lazy." Jayden picked up a name tag from the table. "At least I got a job to keep me occupied for the summer."

Emily took the name tag out of Jayden's hand and smiled once she recognized the style of the tag. His name was carved into a golden plate just like Antonio's work name tag. Obviously, Jayden got a job at the Garcia Seafood Restaurant. "Congrats on your first job Jay."

"Thanks Em." Jayden said, taking the name tag back. He stuck out his tongue at Lauren.

"There's still room for two." Antonio reminded Lauren. He offered both of the Shiba's a job at his restaurant at the same time. Lauren declined the offer though. She didn't want to wait tables or cook, especially since she's not a very experienced cook.

"Thanks but no thanks Antonio." Lauren told him. "I want to spend time with Cody this summer. We're planning to go on a road trip to his parents' beach house in Malibu."

"How come I didn't know about this young lady?" Jayden questioned his sister. For the past few summers, he and Lauren spent time with each other. The highlight of their summers were usually their random, casual road trips to Harwood County.

"Because you don't need to be in my business baby brother." Lauren lightly nudged him in the arm. "Besides, if you can go to Mexico for almost a month, leaving me with an ill pregnant lady and making me spend our parents' death anniversary alone… I can go to Malibu for a week or two with my boyfriend."

"Fine, it's fair." Jayden nodded, clicking his almost empty glass with Lauren's. He understood his sister's points. He did leave her and he had to admit, he doesn't regret it. He had a lot of fun in Mexico with Antonio. Now it's Lauren's turn.

* * *

After quick showers, putting on decent clothing, dressing Breezie, feeding Breezie, and packing a bag with baby needs for Breezie, Kevin and Mia found themselves arriving in the Wantanabe's driveway. They gazed at the front door from their vehicle, waiting for one another to make the first move.

"It won't be that bad, will it?" Kevin spoke up.

"They won't be mad… for long." Mia reassured him. She pressed a button on her phone, causing the screen to light up and display a picture of Breezie. "They can't be mad at this precious face."

Kevin's heart melted at the sight of his daughter on Mia's phone. "Let's go. We're late anyways."

Mia picked up Breezie's car seat from the backseat, as well as her baby bag, and headed to the front door to her parents' house, where Kevin was already ringing the doorbell. It wasn't long until they heard footsteps coming from the other side of the door.

"Well, no turning back now." Mia said, bringing the car seat closer to her lower body.

_Hm, I finished this chapter at 11:35PM EST. It's still Saturday. Hehe... now its midnight (just got done editing). Dang it. Happy Sunday!_

_Okay, starting this week, I will try to update every Saturday._

_Just like the first Samurai Family story, I have no idea how much chapters this story will have. Hopefully I get at least 40! XD_


	3. An Explanation

_Thanks for the reviews! I guess this chapter is a bit of a recap but from Mia and Kevin's point of view. This chapter wasn't what I had in mind but I ended up liking it. I hope you do too, especially the ones that didn't read the first story. The next chapter will be way more interesting! :)_

After a few seconds of waiting on the porch like lost puppies, Terry opened the door for Kevin, Mia, and Breezie. He embraced Kevin and welcomed him inside the house. He didn't even notice Breezie until Casper came out, sniffing the baby car seat in Mia's hand. Terry pulled Casper away from… his niece? He stared at his older sister in shock and then at the baby in the car seat.

"You… you…" Terry stuttered, lost for words. He opened the door wider so Mia could walk into the house. "Why didn't you tell us?"

Mia breathed heavily. By now, everyone in the house was staring at her, especially her and Kevin's mothers. She knew it wouldn't be easy news to deliver. Before her water unexpectedly broke in the worst of times, she had promised Erika, and her mother-in-law, Diana, that they could be present in the delivery room (or Shiba house in this case) when she gave birth.

"I… um…" Mia looked at Kevin for back up. "We…"

"I'll tell you guys what happened." Kevin spoke up for his wife. He gestured to the dining table that was set up elegantly for their dinner party. "Can we sit down first?"

Everyone reluctantly nodded their heads in agreement as they made their way to the table. They were all stunned and somewhat angered because Mia made them believe she was still pregnant but they were also slowly bursting in joy. They couldn't be mad at the newest member in their family.

Mia took Breezie out of her car seat and handed her to Erika, who was sitting at the head of the table, so the rest of the family members could get a good look at the tiny body. She placed a gentle hand on her mother's shoulder and smiled. "Grandma, I would like you to meet Breezie Aquanetta Terryonna De-Tiege."

"She's looks just like you." Erika said, stroking Breezie's thin hair. She turned her attention to Diana. "Would you like to hold her...?"

Diana shook her head. She got a napkin close to her plate and wiped her tears. "I should've worn waterproof mascara today."

"Well, look at that." Diana's husband, Paul, chuckled, taking a peak at his first grandchild in Erika's arm. "She has Kevin's eyes."

"She's a beauty." Nicholas complimented.

Terry raised his hand slightly, not wanting to ruin the moment. "You still didn't explain why she's here in May and not June… I mean, I'm glad she's here but…"

Mia took a seat next to Kevin, leaving her daughter in Erika's arms. She ran her fingers through her hair and shut her eyes tight. She didn't want to see anyone's reaction when she tells them how old Breezie is. Breezie was born premature. Mia and Kevin couldn't be anymore grateful that she's healthy.

"Breezie is two weeks old." Mia whispered.

"You only carried her for eight months!" Erika held her granddaughter close to her chest and kissed her. "You're a lucky little thing."

"At least it wasn't six or seven months mom!" Mia opened her eyes. She stared at her mom and her daughter. "I was so sick. I could barely breathe. Just the contractions nearly killed me! I had her at the Shiba house with Ji and Catherine! There was no time to get to the hospital and call you."

"When I got there, Mia was already pushing." Kevin added on, taking control of the story. Mia was obviously getting upset. He doesn't know what Mia felt when she was giving birth, but it was a very terrifying moment not knowing what was going to happen at the time. "After Breezie was born, Mia started to lose consciousness. Emily and Lauren were in the room too and they attempting to do a healing symbol they found…"

"Any type of samurai healing power is dangerous." Paul stated. Kevin rolled his eyes at his father. If there was anyone more intelligent in samurai history than him (and of course the Shiba's and Ji), it was his father. Paul is like a samurai know-it-all.

"I know that." Kevin told his father. "Emily and Lauren knew that too. They didn't care about themselves at the time." He kissed Mia. "They wanted to save Mia. I couldn't practice the spell with them. I had to work. Anyways, they did the spell and passed out along with Mia. Emily and Lauren were fine the next day… kind of."

"Kind of? I heard Lauren complained too much and Emily ran away with Mike." Mia crossed her arms.

"Will you all stop interrupting me?" Kevin asked. Then he gave his parents and in-laws an apologetic look. He swallowed a lump in his throat. "Mia didn't wake up. She was basically in a mini-coma. I was such an emotional wreck that I… didn't think of you guys. I'm sorry."

"I understand." Diana extended her hand across the table and patted her son's hand.

"I also wanted to make sure Mia would wake up in less than month alive." Kevin continued. "I couldn't bring myself to tell you all that you got a granddaughter…" He made eye contact with Terry. "…Or niece but you lost your daughter/sister."

"So when did Mia wake up?" Terry asked. He gazed at his sister's appearance. She seemed very healthy. It's like nothing happened. She's a perfect example of a living miracle.

"I've only been up for a week." Mia shrugged and flicked her thumb to Nicholas. "I called dad to arrange this party just two days after waking up."

"Just two days?" Nicholas stared at his daughter in amazement. "You sounded like a million dollars on the phone."

"Kevin will explain why." Mia giggled. She did feel like a million dollars that day. She managed to recover in less than two hours after being treated.

"This is my favorite part." Kevin grinned but then he frowned. "I didn't know it, they wouldn't tell me, but the healing symbol didn't work. Mia was actually dying. When Emily left with Mike, they came back – still without me knowing, and began to search for the black flower. Long story, short, when Mia was basically on her last breath, Lauren's boyfriend found the plant. Ji and Catherine mixed it into a medicine and injected it into Mia."

"The black flower is very powerful." Mia smiled brightly. "I have never felt so good in my life."

"I'm glad you're okay sweetheart." Erika returned her daughter's smile. She passed Breezie to Kevin. "We all are, right?"

The family nodded blissfully now that they understood what was going on.

"Good, let's dig in before the food gets cold." Nicholas chuckled.

_My "S" key popped out of my keyboard while typing this... hehe. It's not Wednesday/Saturday yet but I updated. This chapter is short anyways. Okay, I'm going to sleep before I rant or something._


	4. Not Exactly The Same

_Thanks for the reviews as usual! They make my day!_

_For some reason, Zoey's personality reminds me of Seo Do Young on a K-Drama I watched called Manny… You'll see why I told you that. Lol._

About a week later, Jayden reported to the Garcia Seafood Restaurant with Antonio early in the morning. Mr. and Mrs. Garcia welcomed Jayden in their small family team and put Antonio in charge of giving Jayden a few pointers for his first day on the job. They already taught him everything he would need to know and Jayden visited so much that he knew where everything was but a little more practice wouldn't hurt.

After Jayden proved his skills on the cash register, Antonio let him be and the work day started as hungry costumers poured through the doors. June had just began and so has summer vacation for students and people that could afford to take a break from their jobs. Many tourist visited Panorama City during the summer, so Antonio was certain that they were in for a busy day.

Antonio walked around, taking people's orders happily but after being on his feet for a couple of hours, he got a little tired. Just as he thought the day would slow down for his sake, two more costumers stepped into the restaurant. They were both female and had short, black hair. Antonio made his way to their table and gave them a friendly grin and pulled out a notepad to write down their orders.

"So what can I get for you…?"Antonio trailed off as he got a good look at his latest costumers. One of the women was the one he bumped into at the ice cream shop a few weeks ago. He thought that was the same woman he saw reading a magazine on the boardwalk but turns out she's a completely different woman… kind of. "Twins?"

"Yeah, we're twins." The woman from the boardwalk said, rolling her eyes. "You've never seen twins before?"

"I… I've seen twins before." Antonio answered, taking a look at the other woman. He could tell she recognized him from the ice cream shop because she was trying her best to cover her face by pretending to read her book. "If you don't mind me asking, what are your names?"

"I'm Jenni." The one from the boardwalk replied. She gestured to her twin. "And she's Zoey. Why do you ask?"

"No reason." Antonio shook his head and began to write down their orders, while also analyzing their different features. It didn't take a genius to notice they were identical twins but they did have a lot of obvious differences.

Jenni's short hair was styled in a curly afro and she had an eye-popping beauty mark above her lip. She also had many, large tattoos. Antonio would have to be blind not to notice the hearts on one side of her neck that flowed down to her chest and the floral design that covered her entire left arm. Jenni wore skinny jeans with a Marilyn Monroe t-shirt and flip-flops. The most jewelry she wore was simple studs in her ears and a nose ring. And by the tone in her voice when she spoke, Antonio could tell she was the tough one between her and her twin.

Antonio mentally cursed himself for mixing her up with her sister. Zoey's hair was styled into a flat-ironed bob. She didn't have a beauty mark but she did have a faint scar on her cheek. Like Jenni, Zoey also had tattoos but they weren't large and as noticeable. She wore a flowing, navy blue skirt with a white top and black flats. She also didn't wear much jewelry except hoop earrings and a long chain to match her shoes.

"You're meal will be here shortly." Antonio told them and walked off, feeling somewhat surprised at his luck. It wasn't everyday someone bumped into the same twins three times in a row, in a big city, and not know who they are. To be honest, it's a little freaky.

Zoey placed her book on the table and breathed heavily. "That's the guy I was telling you about… the one from the ice cream shop."

"Really?" Jenni tried to stop herself from letting out a chuckle. Her sister got herself into the strangest situations when she wasn't around. She tilted her head at Antonio, who just closed to door to the kitchen behind him. "He looks like the gold ranger."

"I never noticed until now." Zoey shrugged and pointed to a waiter. "Maybe he is."

Jenni looked at the waiter and instantly recognized him. She smiled brightly and waved him over. "Hey Jayden!"

"Hi ladies." Jayden said, making his way over to the twins. He gave both of them quick hugs. "I thought you two were still in Japan."

"No, we came back in March." Jenni told Jayden.

"Oh, if I knew, I could've invited you guys to Mike and Emily's wedding."

"We probably wouldn't be able to make it." Jenni frowned, glancing at Zoey. "The funeral took a big toll on us."

"It's fine." Jayden nodded. "I guess I'll see you two around then. Tell your dad I said hi."

"As long as you tell Lauren we said hi."

"Got it." Jayden told the girls bye and left to help other costumers.

"Jayden's gotten hotter since we were kids."

Zoey gave her sister a perplex look.

"What?"

* * *

At the recreation center, Mike's studio was in an organized mess. Ever since getting his job at the recreation center and claiming one of the dance studios his, it hasn't been decorated. Now that he had his students' family and friends are coming next week for a dance recital, he really needed to decorate. The studio was pretty plain. It had wooden floors, a white front wall where Mike kept his stereo system and a few shelves for his students' bags and shoes, a back and side wall with mirrors, and the last wall was almost completely covered in glass windows.

Mike knew he wasn't very artistic so Emily was also there. She sat in the middle of the room, cross-legged, cutting shapes out of colored paper. "How many students do you have?" Emily asked.

"A lot." Mike smirked. Emily glared at him playfully. "Check that paper I have on the stereo."

"Okay." Emily stood up, brushing her leggings off. Since she knew she would eventually end up cleaning the studio, she never bothered dressing in her best clothes.

She made her way to Mike's stereo and picked up the piece of paper with his students' names on it so she could count how many there are. When she got her number, she watched as Mike dipped a large brush into some white paint. He stepped onto a small stool and began to apply paint to the already white wall, giving it a cleaner look.

"Can I help?" Emily asked him, getting a closer look at the wall.

"No thanks Em."

Emily's smile dropped from her face and she pointed to a side of the wall that hasn't been painted yet. "You missed a spot."

"I didn't paint over there yet." Mike simple stated.

"Oh… my bad." Emily pouted. When Mike didn't notice her, she smiled slightly and sneaked up behind him. "Can I help you now?" She whispered in his ear.

"Do you like being this annoying?"

"With you? Yeah." Emily said, stealing Mike's snapback and putting it on her head. "On a scale of one to ten, how cute do I look in your hat?"

"Hm… a nine" Mike dipped his finger into the paint bucket and dabbed it on Emily's nose. "Now you're a ten."

"Oh yeah?" Emily laughed. She also dipped her finger into the paint bucket but she didn't get to use it against Mike. Mike ran away from her. Just she was about to catch him, he grabbed her by her waist and spun her around.

"Stop!" Emily screamed in between giggles. "I'm getting dizzy!"

"Mike?"

Mike stopped spinning Emily but kept his hands around her waist, looking up to see Evany raising her eyebrow at him. Reluctantly, Mike let go of Emily. Emily took this as her chance to smear her paint on his face.

"Now we're even." Emily smirked. She looked at Evany, who was really confused. "Hey, you must be Evany. I'm Emily, Mike's wife."

"Hi." Evany shook hands with Emily's clean hand.

"We're still decorating." Mike gestured to the paper on the floor and the unfinished wall. "Want to help me paint?"

"Sure."

"Really?" Emily crossed her arms. "She gets to help you but I don't?"

"She didn't steal my snapback." Mike stuck out his tongue at her.

_Yup… someone requested more Memily. I hope this is okay… for now. I had writer's block. So, how does Zoey and Jenni know Jayden? What's their story? Review, drink some tea, and wait for the next update :)_


	5. Who is Zoey and Jenni?

_Thanks for the reviews! Also, thanks for your review PRSforever! Your situation sucks. I have an iPhone. I don't know what I'd do if it was stolen… Sorry. But I'm glad my story cheered you up._

_Everyone is asking this question so I might as well make it public…_

_**If**__ Emily gets pregnant, will it be like Mia's situation? I answered that in this chapter. Enjoy! :)_

Later in the day, at the Shiba house, Lauren and Cody found themselves babysitting Breezie. Kevin, as usual, was at work and Mia had promised Terry they would spend some time together at the mall for lunch. Mia knew the importance of being with her daughter and actually, she didn't want to leave her but Breezie isn't even a month yet and doesn't have a strong immune system. She doesn't want to risk getting Breezie sick in such a public area like the mall so she was thankful Lauren could watch her while she bonded with her little brother.

Lauren walked around the kitchen, at an easy pace, feeding Breezie from a bottle while occasionally looking up at Cody, who was putting tight lids on four containers filled with a black liquid. It's been a couple of weeks since finding the black flower. Mia's fine, they didn't need it for the time being, and they hope they wouldn't need it in the future for that matter but it wouldn't hurt to keep it preserved just in case.

"Well, that's the last one." Cody told Lauren. He lined all off the containers on the counter. "Where are you going to keep all of these?"

"I don't know." Lauren shrugged. "Ji is coming over later. Maybe he'll take them back to his place."

Cody nodded and leaned on the kitchen counter. He watched as Lauren placed the almost empty baby bottle on the table and began to burp Breezie. Lauren felt her boyfriend's gaze on her and she looked up.

"What?" She asked. Cody shook his head. The fire samurai gestured to the baby resting in a lavender blanket in her arms. "Do you want to hold her?"

"No, I'm fine." Cody replied. He picked up one of the containers filled with black liquid. "I'm just happy for your family. You know, I never pictured myself getting the flower or getting involved with a samurai for that matter but… I like it. Now Emily can have a kid with no problems, right?"

"Yeah." Lauren smiled sweetly after giving Cody a quick kiss on the cheek. "I hope so. She might have some complications but she'll live. We're prepared this time. Did I tell you thank you for finding the flower?"

"More than I can count." Cody laughed, remembering the praise Lauren gave him for finding the magical plant.

"I just don't want to see Emily go through what Mia did. It was a wake up call for us." Lauren said. She waved for Cody to walk out the kitchen. "Come on, let's sit on the swing outside. We can start brainstorming plans for Malibu."

"Excited for Malibu, I see?" Once they got to the front of the house, Cody opened the door for Lauren and Breezie.

"So excited!" Lauren exclaimed, sitting next to Cody on the outdoor swing. "I… I really want to meet your parents. Do you think they'll… like me?"

Lauren frowned. Cody has been dating her for nearly six months and he already knows basically her whole family. Apart from meeting up with Cody's cousin, Amanda, a few times, she doesn't know anyone in his family. She doesn't even know his three roommates that he apparently lives with and talks so much about. This situation put an imbalance in their relationship.

"My parents are pretty cool." Cody chuckled at his girlfriend's sudden nervousness. He wrapped his arms around her. "I'm certain they'll like you. You should be worried if they like me. I haven't spoken to them in forever."

Lauren opened her mouth to reply but she got distracted by the red car pulling up into her driveway. It was Antonio and Jayden home from work. The fire and light samurais made their way to the patio and greeted the couple and Breezie.

"How was your first day on the job?" Lauren asked Jayden.

"It went great." Jayden answered. He sat next to his sister on the swing and took Breezie out of her arms without having to say a word. Lauren didn't mind. Breezie has been getting a lot of attention from her family and since she wasn't old enough to walk away or understand what's going on for that matter, she found herself napping in one arm and waking up in another. "You will never guess who I saw today."

"Who?"

"Zoey and Jenni."

"No way!" A big smile grew on Lauren's face. "I haven't seen them in such a long time!"

"Um, who are they?" Cody asked.

"Yeah… what he said." Antonio dragged an extra chair up to the patio so he could sit near the small group. He hasn't told Jayden that he met the twins, especially since he didn't think it was important. But now that he knows his fire friends has some connection with them, he was curious to know exactly who they are.

"They're Bullzord guardians… kind of." Jayden told them. "They're cousins of Cody's… the nine years old Cody.

"Great." Cody stated. "More guardians… how many are there anyways?"

"A lot." Lauren nudged her boyfriend in the chest. "And besides, because of those guardians, I'm alive and safe. Zoey and Jenni's father was one of my guardians while I was hiding."

Jayden nodded. "Since there father was always busy keeping Lauren off the nighlok radar, they were raised by their mother. Sadly, she passed away last year. You guys just never met the twins at Mike and Emily's wedding because they were burying their mother in Japan."

"Oh Japan…" Lauren mused. "It was highly dangerous and against the rules but whenever the twins came to Japan, their father would allow me to play with them instead of practicing my symbols."

"So that's why they went to Japan so much." Jayden chuckled and turned his attention to Antonio. "After you moved, I saw them a couple of times. Ji even invited them over the Shiba house so we could be homeschooled together during preteen years. My childhood wasn't a complete loss. It had its perks when those girls were in town."

"Got that right." Lauren agreed. "Did they change at all?"

"I didn't get to talk to them for long. From what I saw, Zoey is still shy and Jenni is still scary."

"Jenni is something else." Lauren shook her head with a giggle. "We should invite them over Friday for dinner with the other samurais."

"Yeah, we should." Jayden looked at Antonio. "That's cool with you, right?"

"I would love to give them a nice, homemade Garcia meal." Antonio gave them a nod of approval. He and Mia were in charge of making dinner that night.

"So…" Cody began another conversation with a wicked grin on his face. "What's that smell?"

Lauren caught on to what Cody was saying and laughed. "Looks like someone just had an uh oh in Uncle Jayden's arms." She cooed to the young samurai as she picked her up and peaked into her diapers. "Keep this up, and we'll be good friends."

"You're a comedian." Jayden rolled his eyes. He playfully glared at Breezie. "You better be careful about who you do it on you little stinker."

Breezie just stared at her aunts and uncles, completely unaware of what happened. This just caused the adults around her to coo at her more. It was an adorable sight.

* * *

Back at Mike's dance studio, Evany was writing out her classmates' names on the colored pieces of paper Emily cut out into many different shapes. Emily had left her in charge of the craft because she was in desperate need for a restroom break. Mike finally finished repainting the wall, thanks to Evany's help, and now he was sweeping the floor while some music played on his stereo so the room wasn't completely silent. Of course, he occasionally spoke to Evany but she wasn't much of a talker and he didn't like forcing words out of her mouth.

"Mike?" Evany looked up at the forest samurai.

"Yeah Ev?"

"Do you think I'm ready for the dance recital?"

Mike stopped sweeping and gave Evany a serious expression. "You're ready."

"I… I… what if I freeze on stage?"

"You won't." Mike told her. "I know you won't."

Mike expected this from Evany. He knew she would get nervous. When he first met Evany, she was unbelievably quiet and shy. Mike didn't have problem with that though. It's her personality and he can't change it. What he did have a problem with is how it affected her dancing. Evany kept to herself and hardly opened up. And dancers needed to open up. She also had a tendency to doubt herself. Since she doubts herself, she doesn't have much confidence to do the dance moves correctly.

Mike changed that though. Well, most of it. Like mentioned before, Evany is being doubtful. Mike refuses to tolerate that type of attitude. Evany is far better than what she's telling herself.

"How can you be so sure?" Evany pouted.

In that moment, Emily stepped through the doors. "Miss me?"

"As a matter of fact, I did." Mike smirked. He had an idea. He dropped the broom in his hand and grabbed the remote for his stereo before standing next to a confused Emily. He looked back at Evany. "Pretend Emily and I are your parents. You want to make us proud."

Evany nodded her head shakily, showing Mike she understood him.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" Mike changed the music playing on the stereo to a song that his students, including Evany, would be dancing to for the dance recital. "Make us proud."

Evany stood from where she was sitting but she didn't move. She stared at the ground. It was less intimidating than looking at Mike and Emily right now. She listened to the music closely. She knew the song and all of the dance moves to it. It's her favorite song. She could hear Mike turning it up slowly, trying to get her to dance. Evany felt the vibrating of the speakers under her feet. It felt… right.

She doesn't know how it happened but she felt herself move. Her feet lifted off the ground repeatedly. The beat off the music guided her into another world. The rhythm, the tempo, the quality… She's dancing.

_I don't know what happened but my fingers did their thing and I typed like crazy! Lol, my caps lock key even popped out like my S key did last week. Anyways, I hope you like this chapter. Please Review :)_


	6. Baby Cooing and Moving On

_I don't know where I got the beginning of this chapter from. It just… happened. Lol, I couldn't help it. The second half… um, this story is rated T for a reason. Hope you enjoy! :)_

A little past midnight, Mia found herself in her daughter's nursery, rocking steadily back and forth in a wooden chair, trying to get Breezie to sleep again. The more Mia rocked, the more she could see Breezie wasn't ready to sleep again. Breezie's brown eyes were open widely, and staring at her mother's tired eyes. The pink samurai was starting to think her daughter's restlessness was intentional. She's certain that if Breezie was several weeks older, she would be smiling at her.

"You know, mommy likes her beauty sleep." Mia told her daughter. Breezie just continued to gaze at her, occasionally stretching her tiny fist or kicking her feet. She rolled her eyes. "Why do you have to be so cute?"

Mia stood up and placed Breezie on her hip. She grabbed the small pink and blue tie-dyed teddy bear that Mike and Emily got for Breezie on their honeymoon out of the crib. After retrieving the bear, Mia turned off the lights in the nursery and made her way to her bedroom.

She never bothered turning on the lights in her room. The moonlight shining from the window was enough light for her at the moment. She put Breezie next to Kevin, who is asleep, before crawling into the bed next to her and throwing the teddy bear at her husband. Kevin opened his heavy eyes, slightly annoyed, seeing that his daughter's toy is on his head. He knew what this meant. Mia took care of Breezie every other night but when Breezie didn't go back to sleep right away, she passed on her night duties to Kevin. He doesn't complain because it's a fair game. The roles are reversed on the nights he takes care of their newborn.

"Again?" Kevin grumbled, taking the bear off his head and putting it next to Breezie. He wrapped his arm around his daughter. "Aqua, the last time I checked, you're the offspring of samurais, not vampires. Samurais actually sleep at this time of night… um, morning."

"I'm a big girl daddy." Mia spoke for Breezie in a high-pitch voice. "Big kids stay up all the time."

"Well, I'm sorry to tell you this, but you're still a baby." Kevin chuckled with his wife. "I wonder what goes on in her little head sometimes."

"Me too."

Kevin picked back up the teddy bear that was tossed at him earlier and played with Breezie. He would wiggle the bear in her face, causing her to fidget, possibly trying to get to the bear and grab it from him. Mia watched her husband interact with their daughter with a pleasing smile. She was still tired but she found this more enjoyable than sleep at the moment.

"Ha-ha, you can't get me." Kevin wiggled the bear above Breezie's head. Breezie extended her arm but she still couldn't get herself to take the bear from her father.

"Daddy is a meanie, isn't he?" Ma said. She punched Kevin lightly with Breezie's fist. "Beat up daddy. Meanies don't get away with messing with Breezie Aquanetta."

"Ow, that hurts." Kevin faked an injuring on his arm. "Don't beat up daddy."

"Fine, just one more hit." Mia punched Kevin again with Breezie's fist. "Now I'm satisfied."

"After all I've done for you?" Kevin mocked a shock look. He began to snap back buttons on Breezie's footie pajamas that came apart. "I bathed you, fed you, clothed you, and changed your stinky diapers."

"She'll make it up to us one of these days." Mia stated, kissing Breezie's cheek. "I know she will. We've been good parents so far, right?"

"Of course."

Kevin and Mia looked at each other lovingly. They weren't exactly sure what they were getting themselves into like any other new parents but Breezie was a planned child. They couldn't be anymore happier about their decision too. They loved caring for her.

Soon enough, in less than an hour, Breezie fell asleep. Kevin and Mia never put her back in her crib. Instead, they also fell asleep one either side of their daughter, shielding her from anything that could go wrong in the night.

* * *

"_Why are you so stupid Zoey?" He shouted at her furiously. "I don't know why I put up with you sometimes. You're worthless! If it wasn't for me, I don't know where you'd be. And you know it. I'm the best thing that has ever happened to you."_

_Zoey shook uncontrollably in her shoes._

"_Are you going to say something? You have a mouth. Use it." He grabbed her wrist, where one of her tattoos are located, roughly. The tattoo was still new so it hurt her badly. "Oh, I'm tough." He spoke for her. "I have tattoos just like my sister."_

"_I didn't get the tattoo because of her…"_

"_Shut up!" He let go of her wrist and grabbed his jacket from the coat closet. "I'm going out." He gave her a quick kiss on the lips. "I love you."_

"_I… I love you too."_

Zoey sat up in her bed, with her heart racing and sweat damping her back. She took a few deep breaths before reaching for her glasses on her dresser. With her glasses on, giving her better vision, Zoey walked out of her room.

She and Jenni lived together in a house a little smaller than the Shiba house. And just like the Shibas and a couple of other samurai guardians, they lived far from the city, where no wandering strangers could invade their samurai secrets. Also, their cousin, Cody, and his father lived just a mile away. It was good having them near since their mother passed away and their father is still in Japan.

Zoey raised her hand to knock on Jenni's door but stopped herself. Jenni was likely sleeping peacefully and didn't want to be disturbed. So Zoey walked away and kept her twin's comforting words in her head.

"_Not all guys are like him." Jenni told her. "His words mean nothing. One day, you will find a guy that loves you for you."_

The young guardian smiled slightly. Her sister wasn't a very sensitive person but she knew how to make her feel better. She made her way to her kitchen and flicked on the light switch. In the quiet room, Zoey made herself a bowl of cereal. It's very silly since cereal is meant for breakfast but Zoey and Jenni always enjoyed spending time with each other's company in the nights, eating cereal and laughing.

Once she finished pouring milk in the bowl, Zoey turned off the lights in the kitchen and turned them back on in the living room. She rested her bowl on the coffee table and got comfortable on the couch. She knew she wouldn't be falling back asleep any time soon. So with that being said, Zoey picked up one of her many books that she found lying on the couch and began to read it. It's a book about relationships. The author's words were almost as trustworthy as her sister's. One day, she will be ready for a relationship with another man that treats her with respect.

_Yeah… so what do you think? :D_


	7. Samurai Legend

_Thanks for the reviews, favorites, and follows as usual! I think I've been doing a good job updating every Wednesday and Saturday so far but to admit, I'm not very good at keeping up with my schedule. I appreciate the patience though! :)_

The Shiba house was busy with people. Every samurai including Ji and Catherine, were there simple just to spend time with each other. Zoey and Jenni were also there. Luckily, they came by the Garcia Seafood Restaurant again and Jayden got to invite them over for dinner like Lauren had requested. Making the house more crowded, of course, Lauren invited her boyfriend, Cody.

After a delicious dinner made by Antonio and Mia, all of them gathered into the living room for rounds of Wii games. Most of them being dance games. And right now, Antonio was against Jenni in a heated, yet hilarious, dance off. Zoey couldn't help but laugh at Antonio's silly behavior. She even had to pretend that she was coughing so she could cover her blushing cheeks.

"Ha! In your face!" Antonio said, posing in a goofy manner. "I won again! I am the invincible Antonio Garcia!"

"Whatever." Jenni rolled her eyes. She tried to hand her Wii remote to Zoey but her twin shook her head. "Come on, Zoe. Have some fun."

"I am having fun." Zoey insisted. She gestured to the hallway. "I just need to use the bathroom."

Once her sister gave her a nod, Zoey left the loud living room and walked into the quiet hallway. She took a few calming breaths. She wasn't used to being in a big crowd and her socializing skills weren't very good either so it was nice to get out of the room for a bit – even if it meant telling Jenni a little white lie. Since she was just a child, Zoey was very welcome to the Shiba house. Ji would joke that she could take all of the food out of the fridge without being questioned.

Zoey stuck her hands into her sweater and stepped into the kitchen, where she found Ji pouring some drinks. She smiled at her former teacher. "Need some help with that?"

"Thanks Zoey." Ji told her. He handed her some cups to put on a tray. "You've grown a lot since the last time I saw you. I almost didn't recognize you at the door earlier."

"Yeah… the past few years have been crazy for me."

"I can see that." Ji replied. He pointed to a small, but visible scar on her cheek. She never used to have that scar. And by the faded color, Ji could tell it was an old scar. "What happened there?"

"Oh, this?" The guardian touched her cheek, where Ji was pointing to. She immediately frowned. "Um…" She looked at Ji. She couldn't lie to him. "My ex… he took out his anger on me. But just once! I never let it go _that_ far."

"Okay, I'll take your word for it." Ji ended the conversation. He knew how personal and serious abusive relationships were. He didn't want to push Zoey into telling him something that's not any of his business. Each picking up one of the trays filled with drinks for the family, he and Zoey walked back to the living room in silence.

"You're my hero right now!" Antonio told Zoey, while taking one of the cups off her tray. Zoey gave him a small smile. She could feel butterflies forming in her stomach. After placing the tray on the coffee table for the other samurai to help themselves to a cup, Zoey sat next to her twin and Mia on the couch.

"So what did I miss?" Zoey asked, seeing that the Wii was turned off.

"Mike just owned Antonio in Just Dance." Jenni stated. "It was so funny."

"Oh, that's nice… I guess."

"You know it!" Mike plopped down next to Mia and took Breezie out of her arms gently. He smirked at his niece and her parents. "There's a theory I've been wanting to share with you guys."

"Oh no." Kevin said with sigh. "Does it involve my daughter?"

"Maybe…" Mike shrugged. He bounced Breezie on his knee. "She's the first of her kind, right? You know… a samurai with two elements."

"Pretty much. Why?"

"She has wind and water power. She can move freaking oceans with that type of power!"

Kevin and Mia looked at each other. They never thought about it until now but what Mike was telling them was very true. Breezie inherited both of their symbol power. For generations, on top of generations, samurai rangers only had one element. And one element was a lot of power already. Imagine two.

"Here's where it gets crazy."

"Mike!" Emily crossed her arms. "Don't tell them! They're easily influenced… especially Antonio."

"What are you talking about?" Antonio questioned, hearing his name.

"If Emily and I have a child, he or she will have two elements too." Mike told them, ignoring his wife. "Forest and the Earth, that's even more power. What if Emily and I have a boy and Breezie hooks up with him?"

"Mind blown!" Jayden exclaimed. He understood exactly what Mike was trying to say. "I have never thought about that."

Lauren's eyes widened. "… A water, wind, forest, and Earth samurai? Are you all crazy?"

"That would be awesome!" Cody laughed, wrapping his arms around his girlfriend. "What if a certain fire samurai got in the mix?"

"Fire, wind, water, Earth, and forest?" Lauren shook her head. "This is turning into a very screwed up game of matchmaker... and they aren't even born yet!"

"You're forgetting an element." Antonio cleared his throat. Emily noticed him.

"The Earth, forest, fire, water, and wind kid can hook up with the light kid and then they could make an Earth, forest, fire, water, wind, and light samurai."

"Is that even possible?" Catherine looked over at Ji, who was dusting some shelves. "What would happen if there was a samurai with all of the elements?"

"Well, there is a samurai legend." Ji told his wife, but also a little louder for the rest of the room to hear him. "It's basically about how the samurais started and where they got their elemental powers."

"Our dad would tell us that story all the time." Jenni said.

"It's one of my favorite." Zoey nodded her head. "The legend states that all of the elements were once held inside one man. That man eventually had kids and those kids had kids. They didn't practice their symbol power as much as you guys do today so they were weak. So weak, that one day, one of the children in that family was born with only one symbol, fire."

"When fire had his first kid, he didn't get a fire baby." Jenni continued. "He got water. Turns out he inherited it from his great-grandmother, who had strong water powers. And when it was water's turn to pass on his powers, his baby got forest… You guys get the point."

"That's correct." Ji smiled at his former students. He looked at the other samurais that were still a little confused. "All of the elements kept on separating until there were six families that each got a different element."

"Wait." Lauren made a time-out sign with her hands. "Six? I thought Antonio was the first light samurai."

"Now this, I do know about." Antonio chuckled with Ji. "Ji told me about my samurai history when I just became a ranger. First of all, I am not the first light samurai. I am the first light samurai in my regular-non-samurai family. About three hundred years ago, before Dekker and Dayu's time, there was a light family. Unfortunately, during one of the wars with the nighlok, the entire light family was wiped out with no one left to reproduce."

Antonio grinned at his best friend. "I was lucky enough to meet Jayden and _accidentally_ gain the Octo-Zord. With my knowledge in technology, I was able to learn the light symbols through texts with Octo-Zord. So yeah… no need to thank me. I don't feel as special as you guys think I am. It was no biggie."

"No biggie?" Kevin mouth dropped, as he absorbed the new information. "How am I just learning about this now?"

"I didn't think it was important." Antonio shrugged. "Sorry amigos."

"Well, it is important." Jayden squeezed Antonio's shoulder. "Thanks to you, the samurais are more powerful than before."

"Yeah." Mia agreed. "What was it like when you performed your first symbol anyways?"

"It hurt like a bitch and I passed out." Antonio chuckled. "Why else did you guys think I was so pissed when you didn't allow me on the team? I worked hard."

"I wasn't thinking." Ji admitted. "There is a new samurai history book being made now by an elder samurai guardian as we speak. I will make sure we are the first samurais to get that book."

"Thanks Ji."

"Now going back to Catherine's question…" Ji smirked. "If there is to be another Earth, forest, light, wind, water, and fire samurai again, let's hope that they know what they are doing and the world doesn't end." Everyone laughed. "Okay, that's enough stories for tonight."

"All of that history and legend-talk made this little one sleepy." Mike gestured to Breezie sleeping in his arms. He passed his niece back to Mia before helping Emily stand up from sitting on the couch for such a long time. "It's been a good night."

"See you guys later." Emily yawned and leaned her head onto to Mike's shoulder.

"We're right behind you." Kevin picked up Breezie's car seat from a corner in the room.

"Us too." Jenni added on, pulling on her jacket. She looked at Jayden and Antonio. "I guess, from now on, we'll be seeing each other more."

"Yes, we will ladies." Jayden gave the twins quick hugs. "Yes, we will."

_Where did this chapter come from? I'm supposed to be doing homework! Lol! (Don't worry, my grades are decent :P) I have been thinking about combining all of the elements into one samurai for a while now. I hope I didn't confuse any of you. Hehe, please review! :D_


	8. A Star is Born

_I know I'm late. Put your pitchforks down. I finally updated. So chill, drink whatever beverage you want, and enjoy this new chapter :)_

Today is the day. Late in the afternoon, Mike's dance class is going to show their parents what they have been working on for the past several weeks. Mike's dance studio was quite large but having one-three family members from each of his students' household did crowd the room. So fortunately, Mike got a couple of chairs set up against the wall with no mirrors.

Emily decided to show support to her husband and came to help with the big crowd she knew he wouldn't be able to handle by himself. She stood by the door, inviting parents in, and sending dancers to a different room across the hall. Mike didn't want the students to go into the dance studio just yet. He wanted them to do some warm ups and practice a little more before the short recital.

"Excuse me." A tall man in a suit said, walking over to Emily in the hallway. "Is a dance recital being held here?"

"Yes, it is." Emily replied. She looked behind the man. There was a woman beside him, also in a suit, and another young man that seemed like he was around her age. She assumed the woman was the man's wife and a student's mom. The other man was probably a brother. But there was no student.

"Um… no dancer?" Emily questioned them.

"She got here early… to help set up the room? We're Evany's parents." The older man extended his arm. "I'm Richard Thompson."

"Nice to meet you." Emily shook hands with Richard. She gestured into the room where the other parents were speaking to Mike. "Evany is getting ready for her performance with the other dancers. My husband, the dance teacher, is in here. He's been wanted to meet you two for a while now. Evany is one of his best students."

"Oh, that's our Evany." Selena Thompson mused. "We're so proud of her."

"Too bad we've never seen her dance…" Chad, Evany's brother stated, earning him a nudge in the ribs by his mother. Selena glared at her son.

"Be nice. You know your sister is shy." Selena told him before turning her attention back to Emily. "Thank you…?"

"Emily."

"Thank you Emily."

Selena, as well as her husband and son, walked into the dance studio. After a week of preparing the room for a first, big impression, it looked very nice. The room was decorated in music notes and pictures of famous people dancing. The only problem they saw was man, possibly a janitor, fixing a stubborn light on the ceiling before the recital started. Behind the janitor, Evany's family found Mike checking the sound on his stereo system. The green samurai saw them coming his way, and gave them a smile.

"Hello, you guys must be Evany's family." Mike greeted them. Selena and Richard gave him a confused look. "She's shown me pictures of you on her phone." The couple nodded. "Anyways, I welcome you to my dance studio. This is where all the magic happens. Your daughter and I started off rocky but we've become good friends. So make yourselves comfortable and the recital will start shortly."

"Uh, do you have a restroom?" Chad asked Mike.

"Down the hall. It's the third door on your left." Mike stepped out of the dance studio with him and pointed down the hall.

"Thanks man."

While Chad made his way to the restroom, Mike walked across the hall, and into a different room. There, he found his students stretching and chatting excitedly. He even saw some of his female dancers doing each other's hair. He counted the dancers in the room. All of them were there except one. He counted them again. Still, he was one off.

"Hey Layla, come here." Mike called one of his students. A girl walked up to her teacher, pulling her headphones off her head so she could hear him.

"Yeah teach?"

"How much students are in here? I counted but I'm off by one. Maybe you can spot them out better."

Layla's eyes skimmed the room, taking count of her classmates. She knows there are thirty-two students, including herself. But just like Mike, she was one off.

"Thirty-one." Layla told her teacher.

"Evany…" Mike whispered to himself. He looked back at Layla. "Go back to stretching. I'll be right back."

Mike went back into the hallway and gave Emily a worried moment.

"Everything okay babe?" Emily took his hand and rubbed it gently. "The broken light is fixed." She checked her watch. "Five more minutes to go. Ready for this?"

"No, not anymore." Mike ran his fingers through his thick hair. "Where's Evany? I checked the other room but she's not there."

"Really? I saw her go to the restroom and I tried to tell her hi but… oh crap."

"Oh crap what?"

"Uh…" Before Emily could reply, one of the moms beat her to it.

"I saw a student crying in the restroom. I tried to cheer her up but she wasn't having it." The mom informed Mike. Mike exchanged looks with Emily. Emily just simply nodded her head and raced off the ladies restroom. Hopefully, she would find Evany in there, and get her on the dance floor with a smile.

* * *

At the Shiba house, Lauren sat on the couch, claiming that she is "supervising" Cody, Antonio, and Jayden as they set up a new television in the living room. She had her legs up on the coffee table and was drinking a smoothie. The fire samurai and the men have been shopping all day and Lauren insisted that the Shiba house gets a new television… a _huge_, flat screen one that is.

"There you go cheeky." Cody wiped some sweat off his brow once he got done moving the television around with Jayden and Antonio. "A brand new TV."

"Yay!" Lauren clapped her hands and gave her boyfriend a kiss on the cheek.

"Ew…" Jayden stuck his tongue out in disgust. "Get a room."

"It would be a miracle if Cody managed to do that with a sister like yours." Antonio chuckled. Lauren glared at him.

"I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that." Lauren sipped her smoothie while keeping her eyes on Antonio. She gestured to a giant, brown, now empty, box in the middle of the room. It was filled with white Styrofoam and bubble wrap. "What do we do with that? After all of that supervising, I don't feel like throwing it out in the dump outside."

"Well, you can't let good bubble wrap go to waste." Cody stated, picking up the bubble wrap and popping the bubbles.

"Bubble wrap!" Antonio grabbed the plastic out of Cody's hand and began to pop them like a child.

Lauren rolled her eyes. "You guys are a bunch of four years olds."

Jayden faked a pout at Lauren's statement before allowing a smirk to form on his lips. He whispered something in Cody's ear. Cody laughed. He walked over to his girlfriend and picked her up bridal style.

"Want to go on a limo ride?"

"What? What are you doing?" Lauren wiggled in Cody's arms. Cody just laughed and carried her near the box. "Uh oh."

"Let's sell her." Jayden took the bubble wrap and placed it on Lauren's head. "We'll make a fortune."

"No!" By now Lauren was laying in the box with her face turning red from all of the giggling she was doing. "You guys suck."

"I need to take a picture of this!" Antonio joined in the laughter. He took out his iPhone and began to snap pictures. "I'm so sending this to Mia and Emily!"

* * *

"Why is Lauren in a box…?"

Emily shook her head and stuffed her phone back into her pocket. She opened up the doors to the ladies restroom. It didn't take her long to find Evany. The poor, young girl was trying to fix her running mascara with a tissue although she was still crying uncontrollably. Emily felt her heart break as Evany ran into her arms and cried more.

"Shh, it's okay." Emily soothed Evany, rubbing her back. She was crying so much that she began to cough. The yellow samurai pulled Evany away from her torso but kept one arm wrapped around her shaking shoulder. "What's wrong sweetheart?"

"I… I can't do it." Evany stuttered. She coughed again. "I know I danced in front of the class, and even in front of you and Mike but this is… different. I… I don't know what to do. I'm scared. I'm freaking out! Emily, please help me!"

"Okay, okay, calm down." Emily grabbed some more tissues for Evany. She pulled off a small backpack that she liked to keep around her and poured the contents on the counter. She picked up a brush and handed Evany mascara. "First things first, let's get you cleaned up. Your parents and your brother are out there."

"My parents!" Evany exclaimed. "No wait… my brother? Did he have girl lips and a cast on his right arm?"

Emily gave Evany a quizzical look as she brushed her brown hair. She does remember her brother having a medical cast, maybe from breaking a bone, and his lips were rather… kissable. "Yeah, I think so."

"Oh man." Evany grumbled. "That's Chad. He also teaches a hip-hop class."

"Why didn't you take his class?"

"Because I'm a terrible dancer!" Evany quickly darkened the mascara around her eyes and gave it back to Emily. "Why does everybody keep on asking me that? I can't just waltz into my brother's expert hip-hop class and get away with my so-called dancing. It's so humiliating!"

"I don't think you're a terrible dancer." Emily said. She cupped Evany's chin and turned her head so she was facing her. "Stop telling yourself that you're a bad dancer. You're not a bad dancer!"

"But… but…"

"Evany, I told your parents you're one of Mike's best students. And I know I've seen only two classes so you probably think I have no right to say that. But… during those two classes, and with just Mike and I, you're a star. I grew up in the country. And when I say country, I'm talking about a small population of people that produce more food than they can eat and if you're not careful enough, you will step into cow poop."

"What does that have to do with…?"

"There is no time to dance there. When I moved into the city, I was surprised at how important the arts are. How everyday people use it to express their feelings. Just a day after meeting Mike, he took me out to show me where I could find the local shopping malls and restaurants. On the streets, there was a huge crowd cheering. You know what they were cheering at? A flipping dance trio! They were so good that people were giving them dollar bills even though they refused to take it."

Evany stared at Emily with wide eyes. She didn't even know Emily could yell. Emily was always so sweet and bubbly when she spoke. The speech she gave her was very unexpected.

"Evany? Em?" Mike called from outside the restroom door. "Are you girls in there? We're running out of time. Please tell me everything is okay."

"We're fine." Emily replied. "We'll be out in a minute."

Emily picked back up her backpack and dropped all of the items she threw out back in their usual pockets. "Ready?"

Evany hesitated but nodded her head. Emily's speech made her feel better. She wasn't crying anymore. She smiled at Emily. "Thanks."

"You're a star." Emily returned the smile. "You're a super, dance star. If I owned a dance company, I would hire you."

On that note, Emily and Evany made their way back to the dance studio. Emily took a seat near the students' family and friends. All of the other dancers were already in a frozen position, waiting for the music to start. Evany quietly apologized to her classmates and Mike before getting into her position. Luckily, she was placed in the front of the group and her position allowed her to keep her head up so she was staring at the audience. Evany couldn't see her family anywhere. It made her nervous.

"Go Pooh-Bear!" Evany heard someone say. Only one person calls her Pooh-Bear - her brother. "Work it!" She felt her insides bounce with joy once she finally found Chad and her parents in the audience.

"Five, six, seven…" Mike turned on the music. "Eight."

Mike passed the dancers quickly and sat next to Emily. His knee was shaking fast while he watched his students perform. Emily giggled and placed her hand on his knee so he would stop.

"_There doing great."_ She mouthed to him.

Mike nodded. They were doing great, even Evany. It was like nothing happened to her just a minute ago. He was impressed. He watched as the solo parts came up. Everyone got their turn, earning praise from their families. The last person to show their moves was Evany. When she got up there, Mike couldn't help himself from standing up and clapping loudly. Her dance moves were sharp and controlled. They mimicked the beat of the song perfectly.

After an hour, toward the end of the recital, Mike was dancing with them. Everyone in the dance studio was in all smiles. The music stopped and the audience stood on their feet, clapping. Evany bowed down with her classmates. She gazed into the crowd. Her parents were applauding. Chad wasn't with them though. He was right behind her. He picked her up and let her climb onto his back.

"Maybe we should collaborate one of these days." Chad told Mike.

"I would love that dude!"

"Thank you Mike." Evany said.

"You're more than welcome." Mike replied. "Do you understand how dedication and believing in yourself can pay off? I would watch out if I was your brother. You're a definite star."

"Yeah… I'm a star."

_The part with Lauren… Haha, I couldn't help it. It was a nice comedic relief, right? Also, I didn't want to rush this chapter. Although, I think I rushed the end. What do you guys think? Is this chapter awesome and to your liking? Lol. Sorry again for the late update. Thanks for the wonderful reviews as the usual! :)_


	9. Heated Love

_4 more weeks of school left! So excited! Unfortunately, that means updates will be a little slow because of teachers rushing to wrap up lesson plans and I also have final exams coming up. But have no fear! I'm good at balancing work and play... most of the time. Hope you enjoy this chapter!_

The next day was a nice summer day. Obviously, the weather wasn't cold but it wasn't hot enough for people to bust out into a sweat on the spot either. It made a good family day for Mia, Kevin, and Breezie to take a walk on the boardwalk at the beach.

"It's a wonderful day for walk, isn't it Bre-Bre?" Mia said to her daughter, who she was pushing in a baby stroller. Breezie had a pacifier in her mouth, keeping her busy while she looked at the blue sky. Sometimes she saw kites and the leaves of palm trees pass by. She liked these mysterious objects.

"After all of that rain we received earlier this week, I have to agree." Kevin replied. He took a sip of a fruit drink he bought not too long ago. "I'm glad I finally get to spend some well-deserved time with my wife and daughter."

"Aw, that's sweet. What do you want now?"

"For my two favorite ladies to stay beautiful." Kevin placed his drink into a cup holder and wrapped one of his arms around Mia's waist. "Today reminds me of our wedding at Laguna Beach."

"Now that you mention it, the good vibes here does remind me of our wedding."

"Hey Kev!"

Mia and Kevin turned their heads toward the beach where they found the source of the voice they just heard, Antonio. He and Jayden were standing on rich, brown sand, awaiting the next beach volleyball game they could join.

"What's up?" Kevin called back to them from the boardwalk.

"Volleyball." Jayden stated. "Want to join in?"

"No thanks." Kevin shook his head, gesturing to the baby stroller and his wife. "Maybe later."

"I want to play volleyball."

Mia jumped slightly at the presence that just sneaked up on her. Turning around, she saw Jenni. And behind Jenni, she saw Zoey. Both of them seemed like they have been at the beach for a couple of hours considering their freshly tanned skin and wet hair. Zoey was dressed in a Hello Kitty, black, red, and white bikini with a big red bow in her hair. Jenni wore a brown and white striped monokini with a pink flower in her hair.

"Wow, you girls just come out of nowhere now, don't you?" Mia said, placing her hand over her beating chest.

"Sorry." Jenni shrugged. She looked back Jayden and Antonio. "Guys against girls?"

"You're on!" Antonio agreed.

Jenni smirked and began to make her way to the beach. Zoey stayed back a little to tell Mia and Kevin a proper goodbye before catching up with her sister. Once she was walking side by side with Jenni, she gave her a rough shove.

"Jen!" Zoey pouted.

"What?"

"What do you mean by girl_s_? I don't want to play volleyball."

"We used to play beach volleyball all the time. Why do you have a crabby attitude all of a sudden? That's my job."

Zoey eyes gazed down to her flip-flops as a memory flooded her mind.

_It was a fun day. Zoey and her boyfriend spent nearly their whole day at the beach together in peace. They went water skiing, swimming, and even just sat on their lounge chairs talking up a storm. But Zoey's favorite part had to be winning against yet another random team of volleyball players; not by herself, but with her boyfriend._

"_Good job babe!" He picked her up, planting a juicy kiss on her lips. Zoey wrapped her arms around his neck and giggled softly before stepping back down on the sand. "You know what we should do now? Play against each other."_

"_Um… yeah. Great idea." Zoey replied. She didn't really have a choice. She couldn't argue with him, especially if she wants her perfect day to last._

_After Zoey switched her side of the net with another person, the next game began. It was going well until towards the end of the game. Her boyfriend had passed the volleyball back over the net and knocked her to the ground. He rushed to her side, inspecting any damage he may have caused._

"_Dammit! Be careful next time bitch." He spoke low so only she could hear him. Zoey held her throbbing nose. It wasn't long until she removed her hand to see blood._

"_Please, I don't want to do this right now." Zoey pleaded. "Just get me to the hospital. It's bleeding badly."_

_He rolled his eyes and helped her stand up. "I hope you have money because I'm not paying."_

"J… J…" Zoey choked out as she stepped off the boardwalk and onto the sand with her twin. Jenni wrapped an arm around her.

"Don't even say the bastard's name. I don't want to know." Jenni stated strictly to Zoey. "It's just… I like Jayden. He was adorable when we were kids but… wow, he's grown into a fine man. I want to impress him."

"I guess…"

"Hey, I've seen the way you look at Antonio." Zoey glared at her. "I'm just saying. You know, if you're ready to move on from _the bastard_, then I would totally help you get together with Antonio. He seems like a cool guy. Imagine, samurai guardians dating samurai rangers. And more importantly, I would be dating a Shiba."

"You sound like a gold digger when you say it like that." Zoey said flatly. "But, I will admit to liking Antonio. I… I'll play."

"That's my girl." Jenni gave her sister a pat on the back and ran into Jayden's arms for a hug. If Zoey didn't know better, she would think Jenni and Jayden were already a couple. Especially since Jayden is shirtless and her sister wasn't that covered either. Jenni's monokini is quite tiny.

"Aw, Hello Kitty." Antonio said to Zoey, referring to her bikini. "You look cute. The bow suits you."

"Thanks Antonio." The guardian pretended to fix her sandals on her feet to avoid exposing her red cheeks to Antonio.

"You're welcome." Antonio told her. He really did mean it. Zoey's shy personality did make her seem a little weak at times but her body definitely screamed the total opposite. Judging by Zoey's toned abs, she worked out a lot. She's physically fit and strong. "Let's get this game started."

"Okay." Zoey and Jenni made their way to the other side of the net where they met their teammates for the time being.

"Have you guys ever played before?" A blonde asked the twins. She wore a yellow swimsuit and seemed like she could be a senior in high school.

"Yeah. We play all the time." Jenni told her. She glanced at Zoey. "Or at least we _used_ to."

"Don't worry, we'll teach you two how we do it in Harwood County." A brunette wearing a pink swimsuit said. "I'm Emma by the way."

"Jenni." She shook hands with the younger girl. Well, she wasn't young by much. Jenni is just twenty-five.

"I'm Gia." The blonde shook hands with Zoey after she introduced herself to her.

"Ladies first." Jayden handed Jenni the volleyball. "Don't break a nail."

"We'll see about that Shiba."

* * *

At a park landscaped with beautiful trees, Lauren was enjoying a picnic with Cody. The two had packed sandwiches, fruits, pastries, and even a little wine to celebrate six months of their relationship. Lauren felt like the luckiest woman in the world right now as she watched her boyfriend bite into a whipped cream-covered strawberry.

The bright sunlight shined on him at just the perfect angle for Lauren. Cody was wearing tan, khaki shorts with a blue V-neck shirt. And not to mention the black beanie covering his brown, shaggy hair.

"Why are you wearing a beanie in this heat?" Lauren asked him.

Cody shrugged. "Why are you wearing long capris in this heat?"

Lauren just smiled warmly. Cody held one of her hands.

"Lauren, there's something I've been wanted to tell you for several weeks now."

"Several weeks? What is it?"

"Well, here goes nothing." Cody took a deep breath. "I know our relationship hasn't been perfect and we barely get to see each other during the week sometimes but here, in these past six months I have shared with you, I think it's safe to say…"

"What?"

"I love you."

"You… you…"

"Too sudden? I know this is your first relationship so…"

"I love you too."

"What?"

"You took me by surprise a second ago." Lauren told him. "I love you. And I've been wanting to tell you that for a while now too but I wasn't sure how to tell you or how you'd react or if you felt the same way or…"

"I get it." Cody kissed her hand.

"Finally. At twenty-eight years old, I finally know what love feels like."

Lauren leaned in closer to Cody to share a passionate kiss with him. Now that she knows he feels the same way she does about him, she didn't hold back anything.

* * *

Back at the beach, Kevin, Mia, and Breezie were walking by where they started. On the boardwalk, they could see Jayden, Antonio, Zoey, and Jenni playing volleyball on the beach.

"Wow, looks like their playing an intense game down there." Kevin commented.

"Yeah." Mia nodded. "Jenni told me she and Zoey were champs in volleyball."

Zoey passed the volleyball on the other side of the net with a lot of enthusiasm and strength. She hasn't played volleyball in a long time so playing it now and winning, it's an amazing feeling. But just like in her flashback, something just had to go wrong. Giving the volleyball a good punch to get it to the other side, the ball collided into Antonio's face.

"Why me?" Zoey buried her face in her hands. She rushed over to the fallen gold samurai. "I'm so, so, sorry! I didn't mean it! Are you okay?"

"You're pretty." Antonio said hazily at the multiple Zoey's he saw in front of him. "Will you go on a date with me?"

_I want to go to the beach now... hope you like this chapter. I had writer's block. Ever feel like you don't know how to write out a scene? And it's flipping midnight and you're staring at you're computer screen, thinking, "This chapter needs more detail." Yeah. That's the type of writer's block I have. So until the next update, please review.  
_


	10. Awkward CD Talk

About two hours after accidentally punching a volleyball a little too hard toward Antonio's face, Zoey found herself in front of the gold samurai's bedroom door, debating whether or not she should knock and wait for permission to enter or run away while she can. She hopes no matter which choice she makes, it gets her out of trouble.

Zoey's stomach turned at the thought of being responsible for hurting Antonio. She likes Antonio and wouldn't ever wish for something bad to happen to him. Jenni reminded her that even though her aim was a little off when bouncing back the volleyball to the other side of the net, Antonio should've seen it coming. He was supposed to back away so the ball would hit his arms and not his head. Therefore, it's not her fault. It's nobody's fault. Antonio was probably distracted when the ball came his way.

But why would he be distracted? Volleyballs aren't very soft. It hurts getting hit by one, especially on such a sensitive body part like a head. Zoey couldn't get herself to forget the first words that came out of Antonio's mouth just a second after being hit. He asked her out on a date. Does that mean he likes her too? Zoey let out a frustrated sigh. She felt like a preteen in middle school, who's just had her first crush, trying to figure it out.

Building up some confidence, Zoey knocked on Antonio's door. She heard a faint voice on the other side giving her permission to enter. When she stepped into the room, the first thing she noticed was a large, gold iPod speaker in the corner of the room playing music.

"Cool, right?" Antonio said from his desk. He seemed to be sorting out CDs judging by the few stacks already made. "I just bought it."

Zoey nodded her head hesitantly. She wasn't expecting Antonio to act like nothing had happened.

"So, what brings you here Zoey? I thought you were Lauren a second ago."

"I just came by to see if you were okay. Jenni says I'm really heavy-handed when I want to be and…" Zoey trailed off as she saw a small bandage above Antonio's brow. She gasped. "Did I do that? I'm so sorry!"

"No need to apologize." Antonio chuckled slightly. "_Calmarse_. I'm not mad. The doctor said I don't have a concussion and the swelling should go down soon. It's no big deal."

"Are you sure? I've been hit in the head by a volleyball before. I had a headache for days."

"It's nothing painkillers can't fix." Antonio reassured her. He stood up from his desk chair and gestured for her to sit in it. "Make yourself comfortable. I hate seeing you stand in the middle of my room like that."

Zoey shuffled her feet across the room and sat down. She didn't want to refuse Antonio's humble offer and she did feel better speaking to him now that she was seated. Antonio sat on his bed.

"Isn't that better?" Antonio asked.

"Um… yeah." Zoey replied, holding her purse close to her torso. She felt so out of place like a bunny in the ocean.

"Sorry for the mess. My dad just found a whole bunch of CDs I left behind in my old room and I'm just organizing them."

"Oh…" Zoey looked over at the desk piled with CDs. She could tell some of them were from a couple years ago. Many people chose to buy music albums digitally nowadays. She smiled at a familiar album cover though. "I love Secret Sky!"

"You can have that CD if you like."

"No…"

"Take it. I have all of the songs downloaded on my laptop anyways." Antonio walked over and not only did he hand her the Secret Sky album, but a few more from various artist. "There you go. You can keep them, give them to Jenni, sell them on eBay… I really don't care."

"Wow, thanks Antonio." Zoey accepted the albums and placed them in her purse.

"No." Antonio shook his head. "Thank you. Jayden isn't very big on music and I didn't want to see such good CDs rot on a bookshelf." He unzipped a duffel bag on the ground filled with more CDs. "Besides, there is much more where that came from. I collected CDs when I was younger."

"I see." Zoey watched as Antonio unpacked the bag. "Do you need a hand with that?"

"You don't have to but I would appreciate it."

Zoey took that as a yes and got down on her knees so she could help Antonio unload the bag. She pulled some of the albums out one by one, reading the covers. Some of them really surprised her. "You have a really interesting taste in music… I like it."

"My mom said the same thing, except the like it part. She didn't understand why I love some of this stuff."

"I do." Zoey held up a CD. "I love this band!"

Antonio chuckled at Zoey's enthusiasm. He rarely saw her so excited. The first time he saw her excited over something was when Ji told them about the Samurai Legend. And the second time was just earlier when they were playing volleyball. Although, he couldn't help but think that he is forgetting something – something that happened after the volleyball hit his face.

The gold samurai watched as Zoey's hand reached into the bag and pulled out more music albums. She had black ink on her wrist. It's a tattoo of music notes going around her whole wrist like a bracelet.

"That's a nice tattoo."

"You think so?" Zoey frowned at her tattoo. "My ex hated it…"

"Ex?" The samurai guardian nodded. Antonio smiled on the inside. "Well, I think I know why he's an ex."

"No, you don't…" Zoey whispered to herself. She stopped taking albums out of the bag and looked at Antonio. She was here for a reason. If she didn't tell him now, she never would. "Antonio, can I ask you a stupid question?"

"There aren't any stupid questions. Just stupid answers. Go ahead and ask."

"Do you remember anything that happened the minute you got hit with the volleyball?"

"This again?" Antonio asked a little irritated. "Would it make you feel better if I took a painkiller?"

"No! Well… yes…" Zoey face-palmed and sighed. "I was the first face you saw after you fell back and you… you kind of asked me out."

"I did?"

"Yeah."

"Oh, this is awkward." Antonio could feel his ears turning red in embarrassment. He's been wanting to ask her out for a while now but not like that. With the little knowledge he has of Zoey, he knows she wouldn't lie to him. So he won't lie back. He was starting to remember the incident anyways.

"I should probably go." Zoey started to retreat to the door. "I promised Jen I would meet her…"

"I know a great sushi place." Antonio spoke up, also making his way to the door. "I would really like to take you there sometime."

Zoey's eyes widened in shock. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. "Uh… um… you know my number." She smiled at Antonio. He smiled back.

"Talk to you later."

_Yeah… Finally finished! Let's just say my "update every Wednesday and Saturday" thing isn't going to be in effect for a while. 10 chapters! Thanks for the reviews! They're sweet! :3_

_P.S. "Secret Sky" is the name of Steven Skyler's band. Check them out on YouTube :)_


	11. Dating, License Plates, and Cat Love

_Sorry for the late update! My laptop doesn't work! :( This means even slower updates! :( Thanks for the reviews as the usual!_

Zoey walked out of Antonio's room with a huge smile on her face. She couldn't even hide her happiness as she made her way out of the Shiba house. Covering her mouth with her hands would just be an obvious giveaway and Jenni could read her like an open book anyways. Jenni also told her it's good to show off her smile. She never used to like her smile but now she does. It's big and beautiful like her late mother's.

In the front yard, Zoey found Jenni laughing along with Jayden at the picnic table. She approached them with her smile and took a seat across from Jenni. Her sister smiled back.

"Hey Zoe, what's got you so happy?" Jenni asked. "Are you satisfied you didn't knock Antonio's brain out?"

"Ew." Zoey shook her head and stuck out her tongue in disgust. "But his head is fine."

"Yeah, Antonio has a hard head." Jayden commented. "If you did knockout his brain though, it wouldn't matter."

"Wow, looks like you grew a sense of humor with that muscular body of yours." Jenni giggled, poking Jayden in the arm.

Zoey frowned. Her sister wasn't normally like that, not even with her past boyfriends. She quickly dismissed that thought though. Her sister is who she is and she can't change her. She checked her watch and her smile returned.

"Oh, look at the time." Zoey stood up and began to pull Jenni to their car. "We have a hairdresser appointment in an hour. It's not a very short drive. It was nice seeing you Jayden but we have to go."

Zoey and Jenni waved at Jayden again before getting into their car. Jenni sat in the driver's seat as the usual. Zoey could drive but she didn't trust herself. She got too nervous behind a steering wheel to even park a car properly. Jenni glared at her sister.

"Explain to me why I'm the rude one again?" Jenni questioned her twin as she drove off of the Shiba property. "Why were you in such a hurry to leave? I saw you smiling like an idiot when you walked outside."

"Because…" Zoey could feel herself blushing for the hundredth time that day. "Antonio asked me out."

"You sound like a twelve years old girl." Jenni rolled her eyes before a serious expression crept onto her face. "Are you sure you're ready to date again? You haven't been out in two and half years. After breaking up with what's-his-face, you rejected every guy that tried to ask you out."

"I'm ready. I'm positive. I haven't felt this way about someone since J…"

"The douche that broke my sensitive sister's heart."

"Yeah… him."

"Whatever, I'm happy for you. Now we can double date like we used to in college. Jayden and I are going out too."

Zoey groaned. "I hate double dating. They can never tell us apart. Remember that guy in junior year that was dating both of us and he didn't know it. And after we told him we were two different people, he took it as permission to date both of us. Gross."

"Hey, we're guilty of mixing up identical twins too. Besides, that was before I curled my hair and got this ugly beauty mark above my lip."

"At least you don't have a scar." Zoey sighed. "Antonio invited me to a sushi place. You hate sushi. We can double date if things get serious."

"Fine."

The twins smirked at each other and didn't say anything for the rest of their drive.

* * *

"Mike?"

Emily stepped into her apartment with a license plate in her hands. She walked into the living room. There was a big bag of chips next to Mike's Xbox controller on the couch. Despite the sunshine outside, he decided to spend his day catching up on video games. He wasn't playing his games though. Emily thought he might be in their room so she turned around, just in time to see Mike just a few centimeters away from her. She screamed and dropped the license plate.

"Mike!"

Mike ignored her scream and reached for the license plate on the ground. He read it quickly and held it up for Emily to see. "Honey, why isn't this on my car?"

"Um… well…" Emily began to ramble. "As you know, I was going to get a few groceries and just as I was backing out, I turned the corner like we usually do, and I may have backed out a little too far. And I missed the bright, red fire hydrant and…"

"And?"

"The fire hydrant put a dent in the back your car and knocked off the plate… I love you."

"Woman drivers." Mike chuckled, putting the plate on the dining table. Emily pouted at his comment.

"What did you say?"

"Nothing, dear. I love you too." Mike chuckled again and wrapped an arm around his wife. "Father's Day is tomorrow. Want to drive down to the farm tonight? After I put my license plate back on…"

"Sure but I thought you would want to stay in the city for your dad. I heard Kevin is going out with Antonio and Jayden. Didn't he invite you?"

"Yeah, but I don't feel like going." Mike shrugged. "My parents are out of town too."

"Oh, well I'll just call mom and tell her we're coming over."

* * *

After their romantic picnic at the park, Lauren and Cody went over Catherine and Ji's house. They were there for no big reason really. They just wanted to go over. They weren't very far from the Shiba house either. Ji and Catherine lived on the edge of the city just like the Shibas and Bullzord guardians.

Ji was outside as the usual tending to a garden. In the house, Lauren curled up on the couch next to Cody, watching a video on her phone. It was a short video but it left them laughing like there was no tomorrow. Their wild laughter made Catherine look up from her knitting.

"What's so funny?" Catherine asked them. "Are you two talking about me?"

"No mom." Lauren replied. She walked over to Catherine and showed her the video on her phone. Multiple cat videos appeared on the screen. Catherine let out a small laughter and gave Lauren a look.

"Really Lauren? That's what you're laughing at?"

"Heck yeah!" Lauren told her. Catherine shook her head and continued to knit. "I think you should get a cat."

"Why?"

"Because old ladies have cats."

Catherine rolled her eyes. "I'm not that old. I'm only in my early fifties."

"My parents have cats." Cody spoke up. He turned to Lauren. "They'll be in Malibu too. I forgot to tell you."

"A… a cat?" Lauren stuttered. "Like in the movie, _Meet the Parents_?"

"No, unless you're clumsier than I think you are." Cody smirked. "And I said cat_s_. Plural. They aren't that bad. You won't even know they're there."

Lauren sat back down and crossed her arms. "And what's their names? Mittens? Socks? Oreos..."

"Royalty and Majesty."

"Huh?"

"Royalty and Majesty." Cody repeated. "That's their names. Royalty is female and Majesty is male. They never had kittens but they're always together so my parents joke that they're married. They adopted them after I left for college."

"Oh… that's interesting." Lauren stated, letting the new information sink in. Her first vacation with her boyfriend was approaching fast. And as the date got closer, Lauren could feel herself growing nervous. They were going to Cody's parents' beach house. She's going to meet Cody's parents for the first time and even live under the same roof as them for a while. What if they don't like her?

Just as she was going to open her mouth to speak again, a beeping sound came from the kitchen. The sound didn't last for long but it made Catherine rise to her feet. She looked at Lauren.

"Want to help me with some baking?" Catherine asked Lauren. The red samurai nodded. "Cody, if you'd like, you can help Ji in the yard. I think he's almost done anyways."

"Yeah, sure." Cody said, making his way to the back door.

Lauren followed Catherine to the kitchen.

"Cody told me he loves me today." Lauren told Catherine while putting on oven mitts.

"That's wonderful honey." Catherine gave her a smile. "You share the same feelings, right?"

"Yes." Lauren sighed. "This is going to sound very child-like but… how long does your first love last? I've heard a lot of stories of people having their heart broken several times before they found the right one."

"Have you been reading my magazines again?" Catherine laughed softly, causing Lauren to laugh as well. She only asked that to ignore Lauren's question. She didn't want to answer Lauren's question. It had too many answers. She still remembered her first love that was for sure.

"Everyone's first love is different my dear." Catherine gave Lauren a quick hug. "I know the feeling of being scared about relationships and its okay. For now though, just focus on the present. Enjoy your time with Cody. You deserve it."

Lauren gazed at her role-model and mother-figure. Growing up, she never had a role-model or someone as simple as a friend to listen to her problems. She never forced Catherine into being that someone either, especially since when Ji first introduced them, she wasn't a big fan of their relationship. But now, three years later, she loves having Catherine around. Catherine has definitely helped her start on the right foot since defeating Master Xandred.


	12. Dating the Enemy

_Hola! Thanks for the reviews! :)_

_New Chapter Time!_

Mike and Emily arrived at the Pirtle's family farm as the sun began to set above the horizon. Emily smiled and hopped out of the car as soon as it stopped. She and Mike used to make random trips to the farm every month but because things have been so busy since their wedding, they didn't have time to visit as much as they used to.

When Mike stepped out of the car, he was greeted by a barking beagle dog. Just as the dog was about to jump on Mike, Emily grabbed the dog by his collar to hold him back. Once she got a restraint on him, she picked him up.

"Calm down, Buddy." Emily told her family dog, Buddy. "This isn't the first time you've met Mike."

"I don't think he'll ever like me." Mike chuckled, petting Buddy's head.

Satisfied Mike and Emily weren't trespassers or harmful, he hopped out of the Earth samurai's arms and let the couple be. Mike and Emily walked up to the front door and knocked. It took a while but they started to hear footsteps on the other side of the door.

"Hey guys." Serena greeted them after she opened the door. She opened it wide enough for them to come inside. "Welcome home."

"Sissy!" Emily shouted, jumping into her older sister's arms. Serena was taken by surprise at first but returned the gesture and also gave Mike a little hug.

"Wow, you two are early. I thought you wouldn't get here until midnight."

"Yeah, we weren't planning on getting here early either." Mike replied with a smirk. "Right Em?"

Emily pouted, knowing well what her husband was talking about. Before hitting the highway to reach the farm, they made quick stops to local car repair shops in efforts to fix their car bumper that she accidentally smashed into a fire hydrant. The yellow samurai sheepishly turned to her sister.

"I might have accidentally hurt Mike's car…" Emily explained generally. Serena just rolled her eyes.

"You need your own car Emy."

"I know…"

The three of them walked into the kitchen, where Mike and Serena sat down at a small table. Emily started to pour fruit punch for herself and Mike, making themselves at home. But just as Emily gave Mike his drink, she noticed Serena playing with her fingers. This meant she was thinking deeply about something, and judging by her facial expression, it wasn't good.

"So, how are things here on the farm?" Emily asked her sister. "Same old, same old?"

"Um… yeah…" Serena said uneasily. "Listen, Em, I have something really important to tell you."

"I guess I'll be leaving." Mike got up to give the Earth sisters privacy but Serena shook her head.

"Please stay."

Emily could feel herself getting nervous. "Say what you need to say."

"No… you're going to be mad."

"Why would I be mad?"

"Because…"

Suddenly, a little boy, about five years old, walked into the kitchen. He looked around, somewhat scared, seeing strangers he didn't know, but he eventually calmed down when he saw Serena extending her arms for him to take. He ran over to her and she placed him on her lap.

"Did you say hi to your guests, Alex?" Serena asked the boy, pointing to a very confused Mike and Emily.

"Hi." Alex whispered.

"What's up?" Mike grinned, causing Alex to grin too.

"Uh… hi." Emily said to Alex. She glared at Serena and mouthed "who?" to her.

Serena obviously knows the boy. Especially since she knows his name and is allowing him to sit on her lap. Mike just stared at the sisters, seeing there was a conflict rising between them. All he knows is that Alex isn't Serena's kid because five years ago, Serena was suffering from a fatal illness and there was no way for her to get pregnant without the chance of losing him before giving birth.

Serena held up one of her index fingers, indicating for Emily to give her a minute. Emily sighed heavily and drank her punch. Then, Serena turned her focus back on Alex.

"Do you need something?" Serena brushed Alex's brown hair out of his face. He had a long bang covering forehead.

"Daddy said I should ask you for remote batteries." Alex told her. Serena stood up with Alex. She quickly found some batteries in a kitchen drawer and gave them to him. Alex accepted them and hurried back up the stairs.

Serena gave Mike and Emily an apologetic look. "Alex is my boyfriend's son."

"Your boyfriend… you're dating a single father?" Emily questioned her sister. She hasn't been on the farm since her wedding but Serena still told her everything through phone calls and other types of communication.

"Yeah."

"Oh." Emily let out a little laugh. "I thought you were going to tell me bad news. He's a cutie. His father must be very handsome."

"He is… I think."

"See? I'm not mad." Emily wrapped her arms around Serena. "Well, I wish you told me earlier but that doesn't matter now, does it? I'm glad you're finally dating again. I know it's probably hard for you since you were sick for so long…"

Emily trailed off from her rant, completely shocked for words, as a man stood in the kitchen doorway. Slowly, her glass cup that was holding her juice dropped out of her hand and shattered on the floor.

"Emily!" Mike shouted, rushing over to her feet to clean up the glass pieces. Emily never responded to his reaction though. She just kept on staring at the doorway. He turned his head at the entrance of the kitchen to see what has his wife so shaken up. Standing at the entrance, just as shocked as Emily, was a man. He didn't see any danger but because Emily seemed so frightened at the presence of the mystery man, Mike stepped over the glass and wrapped his arm around her waist to calm her down.

"You son of a bitch!" Emily shouted at the man. There he is. Standing in the doorway is one of her bullies from middle and high school. The yellow samurai could feel herself shaking and her temper rising. She tried to attack him but Mike held her back.

"What's going on?" Mike looked at Serena.

Serena held her head. She wanted to scream but that wouldn't fix her problem. So instead, she stood by the man and held his hand. "Please Em… you have to understand…"

"No! You… you… traitor!" Emily shouted at her sister. "Just… just no! How could you? How could you be with someone like him, Serena?"

"Emily, calm down!" Mike held Emily tighter. He had no idea who the guy is but he could already tell his wife did not like him at all. Emily has never greeted someone with so much hostility, not even a nighlok.

Just then, Alex came back into the kitchen. This made everyone in the room calm down a little so he wouldn't know there was a heated argument going on. He was still learning like any other five years old boy so whatever the adults did easily influenced him.

Serena's boyfriend frowned. He knew he would see Emily again someday since he started dating Serena. He just never thought their reunion would be so harsh. He picked up his son.

"Come on little man, we have to go."

"Don't go Jason…" Serena pleaded. Her boyfriend, Jason, shook his head.

"Sorry, I'll see you tomorrow." Jason began to leave but he paused and turned back around. He looked at Emily. "Congratulations on your marriage." Then he turned to Mike. "You picked a very sweet woman."

"Thanks." Mike nodded, still holding his wife. By now, she had tears in her eyes but she wasn't crying.

"You're welcome." Jason and Alex exited the kitchen.

Emily forced herself out of Mike's grip, stepped over the broken glass, and sat next it. She picked up one of the pieces and analyzed it.

"Why Serena?" Emily mumbled. "Why are you dating a bully?"

"He isn't a bully anymore…"

"Liar!" Emily screamed, throwing the piece of glass in her hand at her sister. Luckily, Serena was able to dodge the attack. That didn't stop Emily though. Emily stood a few feet away from Serena. Serena stepped back. Mike ran his fingers through his hair and leaned on the counter. He didn't know what to do anymore. He has never seen Emily so angry.

"I… I met him at the pharmacy after your wedding." Serena began to explain. "Well, I met Alex first and then… yeah. Just after New Year's, Jason's baby mother – another ex-bully- left him. They've been fighting over Alex since he was born and now he's a single father. It happened right in front of Alex. He saw the whole fight. All his mother did was tell him that she loves him and then left for the city. Some people don't change. But Jason did!"

"So, you're dating Jason because you feel bad that he's finally getting what he deserves? He made my life hell. You know that Serena!"

"No Emy. At first, yes, I felt bad for him but eventually I started to like him. I really, really like him. And nothing, not even the fact that he bullied you, is going to make me stop liking him. I think I might love him."

Emily felt a tear roll down her cheek. Silently, she pushed pass Serena and left the kitchen.

"Serena?" Mike spoke up.

"I'm sorry you had to see that." Serena whispered an apologized.

"You're bleeding." Mike pointed to her leg. Without knowing it, a piece of flying glass cut her ankle. He gave her some napkins from the counter behind him. "I'll go check on Emily."


	13. Father's Day From Different Perspectives

_Hey! Thanks for the reviews! Also, I appreciate the patience. I went from updating 2-3 times a week to once a week. Sad news: I might not get a new laptop until sometime next month. Good news: No school!_

_Early-Somewhat-Father's Day Chapter Time! XD_

The next day, Emily woke up about two hours before noon, which is pretty late to her considering the fact that she is what people like to call an "early bird". She looked turned on her side, hoping to see Mike, but he wasn't there. The yellow samurai sighed as memories from last night filled her head.

After her argument with Serena, she locked herself in her old room (that has been made into a guest room since she moved in with Mike). The only person she allowed in the room was, of course, her husband. Like promised, Mike tried to talk to her. Emily never listened though. And apart from dinner time, Emily didn't speak to Serena for the rest of the day.

Yesterday, dinner time was somewhat awkward. Her parents were outside when the argument took place but they still heard the shouting. Drama aside, they were happy to see Emily and their new son-in-law, Mike. So expectedly, the couple told them how their first few months of marriage have been and how their new jobs have been treating them. Serena was silent for most of the time, picking at her food. Actually, the only words she said was "Its okay" after Emily apologized for throwing glass at her feet and injuring one of them. She knew Emily was furious with her choice in boyfriends and probably wasn't thinking so she let it go.

Now, even after apologizing, Emily still couldn't help but feel some anger. Her older sister that used to protect her with all of her heart from bullies is dating a bully. Jason wasn't _that_ bad. She crossed paths with worst. During school days, Jason was in a higher grade, meaning he had some good advantages over Emily. But the most he ever did was call her names and made her confidence level drop from one hundred to zero.

Emily stared at the ceiling as more bad memories came and went. They were starting to make her head hurt. And with that being said, she hasn't eaten any breakfast yet. So the blonde hopped out of bed. Before she opened the door though, she heard laughter outside. One of the laughs were rather mighty, like her father's. It made Emily smile. She raced over to the window and opened it wide. Her father, William, was standing next to a horse. And sitting on top of the horse, is Alex. Her smile dropped instantly. Because soon enough, she saw Jason… holding Serena… and Serena? She rested her head on his shoulder.

"Aren't they cute?"

Emily turned her head to see her mom, Brittany. She shook her head in disagreement. Honestly, she thought Serena and Jason looked nowhere near cute.

"Mom… how can you support Serena for seeing Jason. He's…"

"A very nice, young man." Brittany stated simply. "I support them because I have never seen Serena so happy. You're not my only child, you know. Do you think I liked Mike the minute I met him? You're wrong if you thought I did. He might be my teammate's son but Mike was a little too much for me. When I saw how happy he made you, I didn't care. Same with Serena. Serena's more than happy with Jason. You need to forgive and forget, Emy. Jason isn't the same immature boy or _bully _you met in middle school. He even wears an anti-bullying wristband if it makes you feel any better."

"That doesn't mean…"

"I have video footage of him giving anti-bullying speeches at schools."

"Mom…"

"I'm not saying you have to support your sister's relationship. I'm just reminding you that Serena would never date someone she thought was dangerous to herself or her family, her little sister especially. You should know that."

"Fine." Emily grumbled.

"And Emily?" Brittany wrapped her arms around her daughter. "Cheer up for your father. He hasn't spent Father's Day with his two favorite ladies together since the nighloks returned. It's the least you can do for him."

"Do I have to talk to Serena?"

"Just leave William out of it."

* * *

In the De-Tiege household…

"EW! A spider! Kill it Uncle Terry! Kill it!" Mia screamed.

Mia pulled her legs onto the couch and held Breezie as close to her as she could. Terry rolled his eyes and picked up the small spider.

"Really Kev?" Terry said as he put the spider out the window. He pointed to his sister. "This is what you leave me with?"

Kevin just chuckled.

"Don't laugh." Mia pouted at Kevin. "You know spiders freak me out."

"I don't think they freak out Breezie, honey."

Mia loosened her grip around Breezie, realizing what Kevin was saying. Now Terry chuckled.

"You guys are mean." Mia told them.

Kevin chuckled again as he fixed a watch around his wrist and pulled on his shoes. He was going out for brunch with the other samurai guys to celebrate his first Father's Day. He wanted to spend it with his beautiful daughter. Mia insisted he gives himself a break for a while and when he comes back later, they will have a big celebration with the rest of their family. So he gave in. He wouldn't miss out on much with Breezie anyways. Like any other month old, she slept quite a lot and was due for another slumber. She should be awake by the time he comes back.

Seeing that he is ready to leave, Mia placed Breezie in Kevin's arms. "Say bye-bye Meanie Daddy."

"Bye baby girl." Kevin kissed the top of his daughter's head. "I'll miss you. Don't give Mommy any trouble or I'll tickle you." He turned to Terry. "Make sure Mia doesn't squish Breezie if she sees another spider."

"Ha, sure." Terry replied.

Kevin gave Breezie back to Mia. "Talk to you later."

"Bye." Mia gave her husband a quick kiss. "Have a fun Father's Day brunch."

"With a bunch of single guys?" Kevin grinned. "This is going to be an interesting brunch."

* * *

Jenni lied on her bed, reading a book. She didn't read as much as Zoey, especially as a hobby but she did enjoy a good novel every now and then. The house was ridiculously quiet. She only saw her twin once and that was at breakfast. After that, Zoey went into her room and never came out. It was starting to make Jenni worry. So she got up lazily and went across the hall. She opened the door to her sister's room and already, she got hit in the face with a shirt.

"Sorry!" Zoey said. Jenni just took the shirt off of her face and threw it on a chair.

"What are you doing? It looks like Hurricane Fashion just passed through here."

"There's a hurricane named Fashion…?"

Jenni glared at her.

"Okay, okay, I'm trying to find something to wear on my date with Antonio."

"It's tonight? Didn't he ask you out like, last night?"

"Yeah… Is it too soon? Does it make me sound desperate? It's just I didn't have anything else better to do today and…"

"Calm down Zoe."

"How can I calm down? I haven't been on a date in almost three years!" Zoey threw herself into a pile of clothes on the ground and began to fake cry. "I'm going to go to a sushi place, looking like a hot mess, embarrass Antonio, and then he's never going out with me again. I'm going to be alone forever! Why do you have to be so anti-social Zoey? Why do you have to have a low self-esteem?"

Jenni face palmed as she watched her sister roll around on the ground in her unicorn onesie.

"Why does it matter what you wear? You dress better than me anyways… when you're not wearing a onesie."

"It just... does. Okay? Leave me in my misery. You're no help."

"You're such a child." Jenni groaned. "Are you doing this because you're nervous? There's no need for you to be nervous."

"I can't help it. I keep on telling myself that Antonio is a good guy but…"

"But?"

"What if he's like J…"

"I said stop saying his name." Jenni sat next to her sister on the pile of clothes. "He isn't. I'm pretty certain Jayden wouldn't be best friends with an asshole."

"I'm pretty certain the asshole's mother didn't want to give birth to an asshole."

Jenni covered her mouth, attempting to muffle a laugh. "His mother's reaction was priceless when he got arrested. Seriously though, Antonio is a good guy, just like you said. When is he picking you up? If you'd like, I can do your hair for you."

"He said something about going out with Kevin then getting his dad a last minute Father's Day gift… Today is Father's Day? Oh no, we forgot! What time is it?"

"It's a little past ten. That means it's two am, tomorrow in Japan… crap!"

Zoey and Jenni's dad lives in Japan. It was usually kind of difficult to get a hold of him in the west coast of the US because of time zone differences. The twins sighed and looked at each other.

"We'll call him tonight."

_Yeah… The next half of this chapter looks naked to me... Review please! :D_


	14. Samurai Romance Revolution

_Hi guys! Thanks for the reviews! Hope you like this chapter! :D_

_Thanks for your reviews Kenzie! You know what's more exciting? Mike is going to be in Super Megaforce too!_

_Oh, and guess what? I already have another character named Jason. One of Evany's brothers. Grr! I'm always repeating names. Whatever, I don't think he'll be in this story. Read on…_

Later that day, Emily and Mike left the Pirtle Farm earlier than they had planned to. And funny enough, Mike was the one complaining to stay instead of Emily. The yellow samurai still wasn't speaking to Serena. She wasn't angry though. But she did feel deceived. Her older sister never kept secrets from her, especially one that dealt with a topic like bullying. Bullying isn't a light subject at all. So Mike is bringing her home. He hopes she can clear her head better there.

"You can't hold a grudge forever." Mike said, breaking the silence in the car. Emily just shifted in her seat and stared out the window. "I might not have any siblings but I do know how important they are despite the bickering."

"We weren't just _bickering_, Mike."

"Still, that's no reason to stop talking to her." Mike pointed out. He took one hand off the steering wheel and placed it on his wife's knee. "Serena never meant to hurt you. She's very sorry."

"She didn't seem sorry when she kept on touching him in front of me…"

"Serena shouldn't even be sorry!" Mike snapped. Emily frowned at him. "She did nothing wrong. Look at us. People call me a rebel. People call you a sweetheart. But we still make a great couple." He sighed heavily. "I spoke to Jason…"

"Mom already gave me a long speech on Jason." Emily told him in a whisper. Her voice was starting to crack from the lump in her throat threatening to make her cry. Mike gave her a remorseful look.

"I know this is hard for you to accept." Mike stopped at a red light and glanced at Emily. "Please don't let this separate you from Serena. Remember how you said you would spend as much time with Serena as you could after she recovered from her illness?"

"I was scared to lose her then."

"And you're not scared to lose her now?" Emily shrugged. "Em… what if Serena marries him?"

"The light's green."

Mike turned his attention back on the road and began to drive again. He never said anything after that. Emily was wiping a tear off her cheek by now. It broke his heart. He hated it when she cried. But he had to push her buttons in order to get her to speak. Emily has a nasty habit of keeping all of her problems to herself until she basically exploded into anger or sadness, and sometimes both. The forest samurai turned up the music in the car before placing his hand back on Emily's knee and patting it, letting his wife know that he's sorry.

* * *

Back at Zoey and Jenni's house, Zoey was getting ready for her date with Jenni's help. Although Zoey preferred to be kept off the single ladies radar because she didn't want to date, Jenni was rather active when it came to dating. She had a ton of dating advice to offer her sister.

Jenni analyzed the other guardian's outfit. Zoey was dressed in a simple floral dress. The sushi restaurant she is going to wasn't very formal and it wasn't too casual. Also, Zoey felt comfortable in it. So it was the perfect outfit. The only problem was the black jacket. Jenni helped her take it off and then she put it on.

"This looks better on me." Jenni smirked. She picked up a perfume bottle and sprayed a little on Zoey. "I'm so happy for you. I miss seeing the out-going Zoey."

"Yeah, I guess." Zoey smiled.

"Don't tell him anything you don't want him to know." Jenni returned the smile. Outside the room, she could hear the doorbell ringing. "It's only the first date anyways. He doesn't have to be in your business."

"You sound like mommy."

"I'll take that as a compliment." Jenni said. The doorbell rang again. "Hurry up, girl. I'm going to get the door."

With that being said, Jenni left Zoey to finish getting ready on her own. She made her way to the living room and welcomed Antonio inside.

"Hey Toni." Jenni greeted him. She gestured to the couch. "You can have a seat if you'd like. Zoey should be here soon."

"Oh, no, it's fine." Antonio told her, sticking his hands into his pockets. He watched as Jenni walked into her kitchen and picked up a bag of chips. Jenni noticed his awkward staring. She gave him a quick grin as she ate a chip and leaned against the counter.

"What?" She asked him, breaking the awkwardness.

"Nothing." Antonio looked at Jenni's sneaker heels. He knew both of the twins were big on fashion but he doubt Jenni would just be wearing heels casually in her own house. "Are you going out too?"

"Nowhere special." Jenni shrugged. "I have a package to drop off at my cousin's place. Maybe I'll stop by the Shiba House on my way."

"You should." Antonio chuckled. "Jayden is the only one home right now."

Jenni laughed but never replied. Antonio could feel the awkward feelings between them growing again so he spoke up.

"So… no over-exaggerating speech as to why Zoey is special and I'm lucky to know her and if I hurt her, no one will hear from me again?"

"Well, aren't you funny?" Jenni just popped another chip into her mouth. "She's been through a lot. She's sensitive… blah, blah, blah. Just don't hurt her, 'kay?"

"Okay."

"Have fun tonight."

* * *

At a close by store, Lauren and Cody were shopping for some items they would need for their road trip to Malibu next week. Malibu wasn't a very far drive for them but like any other road trip, they would need a few items while they were on the highway nonstop.

"Malibu! Malibu! Malibu!" The couple chorused in the store, doing little hops and dances as they went through the aisles.

"I need a pair of flip-flops." Lauren told her boyfriend, pushing their shopping cart towards a women's shoe aisle. Cody picked up a pair of red flip-flops.

"Let me guess. Red?" Cody smirked. He's been around Lauren and the other samurais long enough to know they loved shopping for their family color. It was like an obsession they couldn't help.

"No…" Lauren shook her head, looking for a different color. Almost less than a second, Lauren turned back to Cody and took the flip-flops from him. "Actually, these are really cute."

Cody chuckled as Lauren tried on the shoes. "So I heard your brothers have been seeing those guardian twins lately. Feel like explaining that rumor to me?"

"I would if they weren't so secretive about it." Lauren let out a short laugh. "Jayden's… Jayden. He's with Jenni and he hasn't taken her out yet. For all I know, Jenni might make the first move."

"You're kidding."

"My baby brother is shy. Don't judge him." Lauren stuck out her tongue at Cody.

"What about Antonio?"

"He's taking Zoey out for sushi tonight."

"Well, that's a mix up. I pictured them the other way around. Zoey seems 'shy'."

"I'm not really paying them any attention." Lauren shrugged, putting the red shoes in the cart. "It's like ever since Mia had Breezie and Mike married Emily, there has been a great dating game going on. I spoke to Emily earlier and she said Serena is dating some guy she knows from middle school. I even heard he's a single father. No news on Terry though. I don't think he's interested right now."

"Oh… it's basically a Samurai Romance Revolution."

"You can call it that. Everyone in my samurai generation used to be single."

Cody grinned for a second then he frowned. "Are we part of the revolution?"

"Um… I don't know. We don't exactly _date_ anymore.

"Is this your way of asking me to take you somewhere?"

"Haha, no." Lauren gentle shoved Cody. "We're going to Malibu!"

"Malibu! Malibu! Malibu!"


	15. Taking the Lead

_*SAMURAI Mike is going to be in Super Megaforce. Sorry, I didn't specify._

_Kenzie, I would like to help you. But my message wouldn't send. Check the review section for my Gmail account name or get a FanFiction account... :)  
_

_Thanks for the reviews! I wasn't going to do this chapter but you're reviews were so sweet and you guys wanted a date night chapter so... New Chapter Time! XD_

Antonio was having a very good time on his date with Zoey.

Although he has been hanging out with Zoey and her twin alongside Jayden, he didn't know much about Zoey. He just knew she used to travel back and forth from the United States to Japan when she was younger, she's a Bullzord guardian, and knows the Shiba siblings. And not to forget, she also plays volleyball and loves the same type of music he loves. Now he knows more. He noticed Zoey's more comfortable speaking to someone one-on-one. So comfortable, he's even learning some things about Jenni. Given how close they are, he expected it.

"Jenni is a cosmetologist." Zoey told Antonio. She smirked as she sipped some of her drink. "I could ask her to give you a haircut for a discounted price."

"Actually, I would like that." Antonio replied. He ran his fingers through his black hair. It was a quick run but he still managed to make Zoey's heart jump. "She works at a salon or something?"

"Yeah." Zoey nodded. "I can give you the address later."

"As long as she doesn't threaten to stab me with her scissors after this date." Antonio joked. "So what about you? What do you do during the day? I'm pretty certain you don't stay home all day, reading, and eating ice cream."

"Funny…" Zoey stated, rolling her eyes. She knew Antonio was referencing to the first time they met… well, kind of. Does bumping into someone count? "I have a personal and fashion blog. I'm also a fashion photographer."

"Wow, that's really cool. Is it a difficult job?"

"It can be. I love my job though. It keeps me busy." Zoey shrugged. "Tomorrow, I'm driving to L.A. for a beauty pageant. I should be back by night. I'll spend Tuesday morning editing and later that day, I have another client."

"Oh, you sound popular when you put it like that." Antonio gave her a grin. "I never knew you were so busy."

"I'm kind of popular… you have to know people if you want to make it in the fashion world."

"I see." Antonio nodded, taking in the new information. He took a bite of his food as Zoey did the same. He looked at one of her rings. Jenni has the same ring. He smirked a little, remembering his talk with her before Zoey was ready. "Jenni said she's going to stop by the Shiba's tonight. If she's there, what do you think she's doing to Jayden?"

Zoey laughed. "Probably harassing him."

* * *

Jayden shuffled his socks-covered feet to the kitchen. He was bored. Antonio took Zoey out to a sushi restaurant. Lauren was who-knows-where with Cody. The most he knew is that she and Cody were preparing for their over-exaggerated trip to Malibu – a place he could drive to and back in one day if he wanted. He wasn't going to attempt it though. His sister deserved her first vacation with her boyfriend. Especially since he got to leave the whole country and travel south with Antonio. And knowing how much Antonio loves to travel, he can expect more of those. Maybe with the Bullzord twins too, considering how close they have been getting lately.

Speaking of the twins, everyone is expecting him to get together with Jenni. He likes the woman. Jayden will admit that much. He just didn't know how dating works. Well… he did, in a way, Cody was basically showing him how it's done with his sister. How does he approach Jenni though? Jenni isn't the type to beg a guy for flowers and expensive chocolates. Jayden shook his head, grumbling, as he got himself something to drink. Even his parental guardian, Ji, is able to take a girl off her feet.

Suddenly, the doorbell rang. He found that strange. Lauren always has her house key on her. He took a big gulp of his water and dumped the cup into the sink before heading to see who's at the door. To his surprise, and debatably unfortunate, Jenni is at his door. Jayden's mouth dropped.

Jenni stood there on the porch, arms crossed, with a sly smile dancing on her lips. She wore a simple tank top, half-covered by a black jacket, tight patterned leggings, and her sneaker heels were still on her feet from the time she talked to Antonio. And as usual, her small, curly afro was done to perfection. She's a hair stylist so it made sense she always has her hair done.

"Hello?" Jenni snapped her fingers in front of the fire samurai's face. "Earth to Jayden. Are you going to let me in?"

"Yeah… come in." Jayden opened the door wide enough for Jenni to walk in. The guardian kicked off her shoes and hung her jacket on a rack.

"Nice pajamas." Jenni commented. Jayden just brushed his hands on his red, plaid, pajama pants awkwardly.

"Thanks… I think."

Jenni never said anything back. Instead she just made her way to the kitchen, making herself at home like she always has. She pulled out a pack of popcorn and wiggled it at Jayden. "If you want some, I suggest you get me a bowl."

"Sure." Jayden felt himself grinning. He got her a bowl. He didn't know why though. He didn't want any popcorn. He didn't know why Jenni was being so blunt and casual either. But he liked it.

"This is a very large house for one man, Jay. I don't know how you stay in here, alone for so long. When Zoey is out of town for business, I just go over a family member's house."

"Well, unlike you, I'm used to being alone."

"You don't have to be alone. Zoey and I don't plan on going back to Japan any time soon and even if we are, it would be nice to have company."

"What's your point?"

"What I'm trying to say is…" Jenni placed the popcorn kernels into the microwave. "We're going on a date."

"When?"

"Now." Jenni laughed. "I know you like me. Don't lie."

"I do like you. I don't know how dating _works_ though."

"Jayden Shiba is almost twenty-five years old and doesn't know how a date _works_?" Jenni fake gasped. "It's a good thing you like me then." She pointed out the kitchen doorway. "Get us a movie you don't like. I'll show you what dating is all about."

* * *

Back at the sushi restaurant, Zoey and Antonio were just walking out and crossing the streets of the mall. They're arms were linked with each other's and both of their smiles were brighter than the moon above them. Their date went great and Zoey had a feeling it wasn't done yet as Antonio lead her in the opposite direction of his car.

"Where are we going?" Zoey asked.

"Where ever the wind takes us." Antonio replied.

"Antonio…"

"It's only a little pass eight. Do you have a bedtime or something?"

"No."

"Then follow me." Antonio began to jog slowly backwards. He could see Zoey still walking. He chuckled as he turned around and sped up his speed slightly. "Come on, chica! Vamos!"

"Okay, okay!" Zoey jogged up to Antonio and hopped onto his back. The gold samurai carried her all the way across the outdoors of the mall until they reached a big water fountain that lighted up different colors every other second.

"Wow, that's beautiful." Zoey mused. She climbed off Antonio's back and stared at it in amazement.

"I know, right?" Antonio pulled a penny out of his pocket. He offered it to Zoey. "Want to make a wish?"

Zoey nodded and accepted the penny. She whispered to it and closed her eyes before tossing it into the fountain. She turned her head to see Antonio simply flicking his penny into the water. He flashed her a smile.

"The sunset is very nice from this view." Antonio said, wrapping his fingers into hers. A slow love song played from the outdoor speakers of the mall buildings. "Let's dance."

"I don't know how to dance."

"I'll show you." Antonio placed one of Zoey's hands on his shoulder and he placed one of his hands on her hips. When he did that, he felt Zoey flinch. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." Zoey eventually relaxed her muscles. Antonio danced with her all around the fountain. Once again, she found herself smiling. Antonio smiled back.

"What? Is there something on my face?"

"Thanks for such a wonderful night." Zoey looked at the ground. "I haven't been on a date in two and a half years."

"I haven't been on a date in four and a half years." Antonio chuckled. He lifted Zoey's chin so she was looking back at him. "This night wouldn't be wonderful without you."

At midnight, Antonio took Zoey home just to find that Jenni wasn't there. He promised Zoey that he would stay with her until Jenni showed up. That didn't happen soon so the gold samurai found himself sleeping on the couch at their house. Zoey also slept in the living room with him, too tired from her fun night to make it to her room.

* * *

In the Shiba House, Jenni was laying on the couch opposite to Jayden. They literally spoke until they fell asleep. Their night wasn't special. It started off very funny to Jenni and very awkward to Jayden. But in the end, everything went pretty good. Jayden even said he'll take Jenni on a real date soon.

Interrupting their sleep, the doorbell rang. Jayden got up. He stretched his arms and looked over to the other couch, where Jenni was waking up too.

"Now who would be at the door at this hour?" Jayden grumbled.

"Maybe it's a nighlok." Jenni laughed tiredly. Jayden glared at her. "I'm just joking. Geez."

The two of them walked up to the door and opened it. There, they found Lauren and Cody smiling like idiots. Jayden let them in. He frowned at the couple.

"You both smell like alcohol." Jayden told them.

"Don't worry." Cody chuckled. "We took a cab."

"Where were you guys?" Jayden questioned a little cranky. If he knew he was waking up to this, he wouldn't have opened the door. "It's one in the morning."

"Cody took me to the hottest club in Panorama City!" Lauren giggled. "Sorry to wake you baby brother. I couldn't get my keys to turn." She giggled some more.

"You're so drunk." Cody joined in her laughter as they began to walk down the hallway.

Jenni laughed too and nudged Jayden. "Laugh. It's kind of funny."

"I don't like how _reckless_ my sister is getting." Jayden said loud enough for Lauren to hear. Lauren just gave him the middle finger. He sighed. It wasn't the first time this has happened. Jenni gave him a pat on the back.

"Let it go. Deal with it in the morning."

_Where did the end of this chapter come from? Lol… no movie night for you Miss Classy... you'll get too much ideas :P  
_


	16. Sibling Problems

The next day, around midday, Breezie was waking up from a nap. When she yawned, she made little sound. She didn't even have to wait a minute to see her mother coming to get her from the corner of the room. Mia had been in her nursery for nearly half of her nap doing laundry and some cleaning.

Although she would never admit it, she's basically a stay-at-home-mom now. She took her role in the house rather seriously, especially since she could see herself doing it for another year or so until she got her degree and found a job. She didn't mind it though. It's the life she has always wanted. And she knew whenever she needed a break, she had a partner. If Kevin isn't working or training for the Olympics, he's at home with his family.

"It's milk time!" Mia said to Breezie as she picked her up from her crib. They went down stairs to the kitchen, where Mia got a bottle of milk that was ready for her daughter on the counter. Since she had a pretty good idea of when Breezie would wake, she already prepared the milk for her.

The pink samurai walked across the kitchen to get to the living room. She crossed her legs on the couch and began to feed her daughter. Just then, Kevin came in wearing basketball shorts. He gave Mia a quick kiss and slumped down into the couch next to her.

"Hey Daddy." Mia returned the kiss. "It's nice of you to join us. How was your nap?"

"It was… relaxing." Kevin smiled. "I wish I could do this every day."

He let out a small yawn. Today, he and Mia were having somewhat of a "Lazy Day". They just felt like staying home without any interruptions. Unfortunately, the doorbell rang. Kevin got up to see who's there. He opened the door and before he could say anything, Emily and Lauren pushed pass him.

"MIA!"

"Great seeing you ladies too…" Kevin muttered and closed the door. He went back to his seat to see what all of the commotion was about.

Mia just shook her head at the way Emily and Lauren came in. Emily wore her work clothes (she could tell by the name tag) while Lauren wore a red sweat suit and her hair looked like a ton of birds passed through it. She almost seemed sick.

"What do you want children?" Mia asked them a little irritated. The yellow and red samurais began to speak at the same time.

"Jayden's not talking to me…"

"I'm not talking to Serena…"

"He thinks I need an intervention…"

"My own husband is siding with her…"

"HELP!"

"Silence!" Mia shouted. She put Breezie's milk bottle in Emily's mouth. Emily took it out and made a sour face at the bottle.

"Ew!" Emily stuck out her tongue in disgust. "What is this?"

Mia just proudly fixed her bra strap over her shoulder. Emily knew what her action meant. She stuck out her tongue again and ran to the kitchen to rinse out her mouth of the awful taste. Mia smirked and gestured for Lauren to take a seat.

"What's wrong, big sis?" Mia pouted. Lauren rarely came to her for help. If something was bothering her, she usually found a way around it… with Jayden. Not her. So there _has_ to be a big problem if Lauren is coming to her. And if she heard correctly, Jayden isn't speaking to her.

"I've been having a little too much fun lately." Lauren answered, nervously rubbing her hands together.

"How much fun exactly?"

"I… I drank… a little too much last night."

"How much is 'a little too much'?" Kevin asked.

Lauren just shrugged. "A couple shots… a few bottles… I really can't remember."

"Lauren, that's _too_ much." Kevin told her. "You're having a hangover, aren't you?"

"I feel better now." Lauren looked at the ground in shame. Drinking isn't her thing. It's not her lifestyle. Even she knows that. "It was a mistake. I'm sorry."

Mia gave Lauren a sympathetic look. She gave Breezie to her husband and rubbed Lauren's back. "Well, you look sorry. I'll give you that much."

"Was it your first time?" Emily asked with concern. She walked in and sat down in the recliner couch. Mia's house is huge but because of the way it's designed, Emily heard everything going on in the living room from the kitchen.

"It was my first time to a club." Lauren said. "It wasn't my first time drinking like that. More like my… third time maybe."

"Three times isn't enough for an intervention." Mia chuckled. "But seriously, you can't be drinking like that."

"Yeah, you need to get that under control before it gets worse." Kevin agreed. He personally didn't drink alcohol. If he did, it's probably because he was at a fancy restaurant, party, mostly celebrations, or something in that range. Also, he's a health-nut, so he really isn't about that drinking life.

"I will." Lauren nodded. "I will with Cody. He's the one that got me drunk last night anyways. But you guys didn't answer my Jayden problem. He won't talk to me. He called me reckless."

"You aren't reckless." Emily assured the red samurai. "You're the total opposite."

"Jayden's probably just mad." Mia added on. "I think the only thing you can do about that is talk to him and hope he listens."

"Prove to him you're still… you." Kevin told Lauren. "You guys have a strong sibling bond. He'll get over it."

"Thanks guys." Lauren smiled. "Um… have anything for headaches?"

"Upstairs in the medicine cabinet." Kevin chuckled. "Are you sober enough to change Breezie's diaper while you're up there?"

"I was sober enough to drive here." Lauren rolled her eyes. She took her niece from Kevin and began to go up the stairs. Then, the room got quiet and all eyes turned to Emily.

"What's this about Serena now?" Mia asked. "Just like Lauren and Jayden, you two never fight."

"Serena's dating." Emily stated.

"Oh, I heard." Kevin replied. "How is the new boyfriend?"

"I don't know." Emily explained. "Serena never told me about him until Saturday night. His son came in asking for remote batteries and he's… he's cute. But then later, his dad, Serena's boyfriend came in and…"

"And what?"

Emily sighed. "Serena's dating a guy that used to bully me."

"You're kidding." Mia gasped. "Serena used to beat the crap out of people like that for you."

"I wouldn't joke about something like that." Emily shook her head. "I was so pissed. Everyone keeps on lecturing me that he's a changed man. Even Mike. Apparently the two of them spoke and he seems to like the guy. I want to believe him, my mom, and Serena but I can't! No one in this family understands what bullying feels like."

"You're right about that…" Kevin told her. "And I'm sorry it had to be you but I think we've all had our fair sharing of teasing…"

"Not like I have." Emily cut his sentence short. "Are you forgetting I completed high school online just last year because I didn't want to go back to the bullying? I only recently just changed my mind about online college."

"Did you at least talk to the guy?"

"No, I didn't. Why should I?"

"Talk to him, Emily." Kevin said firmly. "If your family members, that you trust with your life, are telling you that Serena's boyfriend changed for the good, you need to believe them. Then, talk to him one-on-one and see for yourself if they're telling the truth."

Emily's mouth fell open in shock. She looked over at Mia desperately. Mia stood up and wrapped her arms around her.

"I know it's hard." Mia kissed the younger girl's head. "I'm sorry. I agree with Kevin. Serena likes him, your parents like him, and by the sounds of it, Mike likes him too."

"I can't believe it." Emily whispered. "Mia, you're supposed to be there for me."

"I am."

Kevin got up too and gave Emily's shoulder a squeeze. "We're not taking anyone's side."

"I need to get back to work." Emily shrugged the couple's hands off her shoulders.

Lauren came in with Breezie just in time to see the yellow samurai leave. She frowned at Mia and Kevin. "Did I miss something?"

_Hey! There has been a lot of bullying fics lately. I have no problem with that. Awareness is good. Since this story is currently on the topic though, I think I should say something. I have never been bullied. Not constantly anyways. For those of you that have, can I tell you something real quick?_

"_You are beautiful; no matter what they say" Beautiful by Christina Aguilera ;)  
_

'_Kay. That's it. Stay classy, don't bully, and please leave a review! :D_


	17. None of Your Business

The same time Emily was at Mia and Kevin's house, Mike was at work. He's currently trying to get Emily on the phone while he watched his students, who are scattered in the room relaxing. The dance classes are longer now that his students are on summer break from school. This meant he had to set up his classes to have little breaks in them so his students could have time to cool off after moving around non-stop.

"Mike?"

The green samurai looked up from his phone to see who called him. He smiled when he noticed its Evany. She has a lot of friends now that she could keep up with them in class. She still likes being his little helper though, even if that just meant entertaining him with her teenage girl annoyance. Their relationship took a turn from nagging teacher and stubborn-to-learn-student to somewhat good friends.

"Yes Evany?" Mike replied. Evany crossed her arms over her chest.

"Where's Emily? She's usually here for her lunch break."

"Right… the wife." Mike looked at his unanswered text messages and then back at Evany. He gave her a small grin. "She's mad at me."

"Why?"

"None of your business."

"Why?"

"Because it isn't."

"But I want to help." Evany pouted. She took a seat next to Mike on the windowsill. "Please?"

"It's too serious and personal for me to share. Emily would make me sleep outside in the rain if she found out I told you."

"I won't tell her or anyone." Evany pretended to lock her lips with a key. "Your secret is safe with me."

"Do you know that you're a nosey, little girl?"

"Yes, with good intentions." Evany placed her hand on Mike's shoulder. "I'm here for you when you're ready to talk. We can get through this together, Mike."

"What do you want to be when you grow up?"

"One of Beyoncé's back-up dancers. Or Ciara's. I like her too. She's my idol."

Mike chuckled. "Be a marriage counselor on the side."

"Why?"

"You're acting like one." Mike gave his student a pat on the back. "You're very nice Evany but Emily and I can work out our own issues."

"Fine." Evany said in defeat. She pulled a card out of her shorts' pockets. "Here is brother's number. He said to call him whenever you get the chance. My dad heard about the collaboration. He told my brother if you guys can come up with a good choreography by the beginning of August, he can hook you up with a concert at his theater."

"I thought your dad only did contemporary and ballet performances at his theater."

"Mostly. He does hip-hop too. My dad pays a lot." Evany nudged Mike. "You know you want to…"

"I'll call Chad later." Mike nodded. He did need the money. He already saved enough to pay for Emily's college classes with her for one semester but that didn't mean he should just stop. He would save as much money as he could so Emily could get a college degree and better job.

* * *

At the Garcia's restaurant, Antonio was in the kitchen, preparing a hungry costumer's meal. Jayden was right next to him, holding a tray and waiting for the food. They were having a very slow Monday so Jayden didn't really have anywhere else in the restaurant to be. If they got another costumer while he's there, Mrs. Garcia would be taking their order. It's been a month since Jayden got his job at the restaurant and it has been quite easy considering the people he worked with are family.

"…I took her to the fountain and we danced a little." Antonio told Jayden. They were talking about their date night they had with the guardian twins. "It started off awkward but it was actually really nice toward the end. She's so sweet."

"Did you kiss her?" Jayden asked.

"No. And I don't know why but she flinched when I held her waist to dance. I didn't want her to feel any more uncomfortable."

Jayden shrugged. "Some girls don't like to be touched… like Lauren. You should've seen what she did to me last week when I sneaked up behind her."

"Cody said she flipped you." Antonio chuckled.

"Never doing that again." Jayden shook his head. "Speaking of Cody, can you believe what he and Lauren did last night?"

"What did they do? When I got home from Zoey's, I saw her leaving. I asked where and she said it doesn't matter and if I need her, I should just call."

"Of course." Jayden rolled his eyes. "They went to a club and got drunk. I'm not saying its Cody's fault but he's making Lauren a little too… careless. I think she's forgetting who she is – a samurai."

"Oh, come on." Antonio laughed. "You're over-exaggerating. Lauren's been training like a samurai since she could walk. Why would she forget her roots because of a teensy slip-up? She could never forget leaving the country at seven years old. Especially not with six teammates, a mentor she thinks of as a second dad, and the nineteenth generation of wind of water samurai already born."

Jayden opened his mouth to retort but was cut off as Antonio's phone rang. Antonio handed Jayden their customer's food before brushing off his hands and answering his phone. Jayden just ignored him and walked out the kitchen to serve their customer.

"Hola!" Antonio greeted Zoey on the phone. "What's up? Are you at the pageant? I here cameras snapping."

"_Yeah."_ Zoey replied casually. _"Hold on real quick… Hey there, cutie. The crown goes this way. Can you smile for me?"_

Antonio chuckled. Zoey had told him she would be in Los Angeles for a beauty pageant. By what he could here on the phone, it sounded like a kids' pageant. He has no idea how she's able to take pictures with a huge camera and talk on the phone at the same time but it's kind of funny.

"_I'm back."_ Zoey said. _"Sorry about that. These kids are hyper."_

"Toddlers and Tiaras?"

"_Kind of… I hate that show though. It's so stereotypical. I can't stay on the phone for long. Can you do me a favor?"_

"Yeah."

"_Jenni was on my website and she said the pictures' section isn't working properly. Can you check it out for me so I have a different opinion? You're a tech guy, right? It would mean the world to me if you could fix it."_

"I'd be glad to fix it. Just send me the details."

"_Thanks, Antonio."_

Back in the main room of the restaurant, Jayden was cleaning the bar. Before he could walk back into the kitchen, he heard someone call his name. He looked up and saw it was Lauren and behind her was Cody. He groaned.

"Are you guys ordering food?"

"No." Cody told him.

"Then, I'm going on my break."

"No Jayden!" Lauren said, grabbing her brother's arm over the bar. He shrugged her off.

"What?"

"We want to apologize for last night." Cody said. "Lauren and I both know what we did was wrong."

Jayden let out a heavy sigh. "Go on."

"We've been really wild lately." Lauren frowned. "We shouldn't be drinking like that. Drinking can be great and all, especially for celebrations and parties, but too much can get really dangerous and we should be more careful about what we're putting into our body. No more drunk nights."

"Yeah." Cody agreed with his girlfriend. "And I know I'm not a samurai or anything but I've been around you guys long enough to know that you all live on respect and honor." He wrapped his arm around Lauren. "I don't want to break any of that stuff… its like, your culture or something."

Jayden smiled, hearing the apology he wanted.

Lauren giggled at Cody's response. She turned back to her brother. "Please forgive us Jay."

"Okay." Jayden grinned. "I forgive you guys."

"Really?"

"I drink too…" Jayden let out a little laugh. He looked at Cody. "And some people drink because it's part of their culture. Just don't scare me like that again. I was mad because I care about you two."

"That means a lot, bro." Cody patted his chest, where his heart is.

"I'll see you later, baby brother!" Lauren began to pull Cody out the restaurant but then she turned back around. "Oh… What was Jenni doing at our house early in the morning? She hates mornings."

"Sleepover?" Jayden smirked.

"A sleepover?" Lauren raised her eyebrow. "Whatever, I don't want to know… as long as no funny business happened on my couch."

Jayden shook his head at the silly couple as they left. He's glad their little disagreement is behind them now. He walked upstairs, to the Garcia's home, where he was sure Antonio already is for their break. He found the gold samurai on the couch, staring at his laptop, with his mouth wide open. Jayden sat next to him.

"That's a nice picture of the twins." Jayden said, taking a look at the side of the computer screen.

"Uh huh…" Antonio sighed. He pointed to something he was reading. "I don't think Zoey put much thought into making me go on her website."

"_Hey internet buddies!" _Jayden read. _"I'm Zoey Hilton…" _Jayden trailed off, knowing it's an autobiography. He already knows more about Zoey than what she posted on her website. He jumped to the bottom of the article and that's when he saw what has Antonio in shock. They exchanged surprised expressions.

"Are you going to tell her you know?" Jayden asked him.

"I… I don't know." Antonio frowned. "We only went on one date. It's none of my business. She'll tell me when she's ready."

_Thanks for the reviews. I am getting so bad at this whole "update thingy". Quick question for anyone in high school: Do you get summer homework that you __have__ to do over Summer Break? Because I do… I rather not go on about it. I'll rant and… let's just not do that today. Please review and have a beautiful day and/or night! XD_


	18. Rainy Day Secrets

The samurais thought the first couple of days of July would be sunny. Turns out they were very wrong. The rain pours and lightning strikes nonstop, leaving the Shiba siblings, the Hilton twins, Cody, and Antonio locked inside the Shiba House. They made the most of it though by alone cuddling time with their partners, constant talking that turned into playful teasing, and even running around the house because someone decided to steal another person's phone while they were texting. These times reminded the samurais of the time they were active rangers while it reminded Cody and the twins of college. They all enjoyed each other's company, especially Lauren, who didn't have much hobbies.

Now, they're hungry.

Antonio and Zoey held hands as they walked down the hallway to the kitchen. It hasn't been a week since their first date but they have been really close lately, which is expected since they were friends before they started dating anyways.

"Teach me Spanish and I'll teach you Japanese." Zoey told Antonio.

"Sounds like a plan." Antonio said. "We can even start today, seeing this rain doesn't want to stop."

"Great." Zoey smiled. "A coworker of mine is inviting me to her brother's pool party next week when the rain stops. Want to come?"

Zoey watched as Antonio's happy expression changed to a frown. She has no idea what she said to upset him and there wasn't anyone or thing in the hall that could have scared him. This left her very confused. The couple stopped by the kitchen doorway, where Jayden can be seen starting lunch for everyone.

"Antonio?" Zoey snapped her finger in front of the gold samurai. He shook his head, getting out of his trance.

"What?"

"Can you go to the pool party?"

"Oh… yeah." Antonio offered her a weak smile. "I can swim. Who said I can't swim? I practically live on the beach. _Plus_, I'm a fisherman. I know how to swim."

Zoey giggled at Antonio's rant. "I never said anything about swimming. But, the guy hosting the party is a swimmer. He has tons of medals. Maybe you, a well-built Power Ranger, could… race him? He loves a good challenge."

"We'll see…"

"Yay!" Zoey smiled brightly. She pointed down the hall, where her sister was talking on the phone. "I need to tell Jen something. Be right back."

With that being said, Zoey went down the hall and left Antonio. He walked into the kitchen and opened up the fridge, pretending nothing just happened to ignore Jayden. He cursed under his breath, realizing what he got himself into. If he never said anything about swimming and just simply agreed to go to the party, he wouldn't be in the mess he created for himself. Jayden smirked at his best friend.

"Are you going to keep lying to her like that? Wow, smooth." Jayden said sarcastically.

"I'm not lying to her." Antonio sighed. "Okay… maybe I can't swim."

"Ji had to save you from nearly drowning in the lake when we were younger."

"I know that." Antonio closed the fridge door and glared at the fire samurai. "That was before we met Kevin, the water samurai that's currently training for the Olympics. I can just ask him to teach me."

"Let me get this straight." Jayden crossed his arms and made a thoughtful face. "Zoey invited you to a pool party, which you agreed to although you don't know how to swim. But you told Zoey that you _do know_ how to swim and that you would even race a stranger with a ton of swimming medals. And since that's the case, you're going to ask Kevin to teach you how to swim in a week. A week? Really Antonio? For a tech guy, you're not that smart sometimes."

"How hard could it be?"

"Estúpido."

Antonio frowned. "Spanglish is my thing."

"Did you at least tell her about… you know."

"No." Antonio replied, knowing well what Jayden is talking about. A couple of days ago Zoey asked him to fix something on her blogging website. And he did. Then, out of curiosity, he read her autobiography. No harm in that. Isn't the point of dating is to see if you're compatible with someone by getting to know them? But he found out a very interesting fact about her. Something important about her past. He doesn't want to bring up the matter to her though. It's past her now. It's her story to tell… tell him in person, not through the internet.

"When do you plan on telling her…?" Jayden trailed off as he watched Lauren and Cody walk into the kitchen. Jayden gulped a little. Nothing went pass his older sister unnoticed.

"Her? Are you guys talking about me?" Lauren asked casually while she tied the band on her red robe. She hasn't been out of her pajamas all day. Actually, everyone in the house was in pajamas and/or sweats.

"Nope. Not at all."

Lauren simply shrugged. "Don't let me stop you from your conversation about Zoey."

When Antonio heard the other samurai mention Zoey, he did a spit-take from the juice he was just drinking. Cody backed up a little from the scene.

"Dude, that's unsanitary."

"My bad, amigo." Antonio apologized to Cody. He set his drink down on the counter and went to grab some napkins to clean up his mess. Now, Lauren was concerned. She didn't know Jayden and Antonio were talking about Zoey, she just assumed. She walked up to Antonio and gave him a punch in the shoulder.

"What are you saying about my girl, Zoey?" Lauren crossed her arms and tapped one of her feet impatiently. "Answer me. I need an explanation for that spit-take."

Antonio looked over to Jayden, who looked away and whistled like he didn't do anything. Antonio sighed in defeat. He leaned in closer to Lauren and whispered something in her ear.

"You're kidding!" Lauren gasped. She gave Antonio a sympathetic look. "That's horrible. It's no wonder she's…"

Before Lauren could finish her sentence, Antonio grabbed her mouth to stop her from spilling the secret. Lauren never knew that though, she elbowed him gently but enough to let him back off. When she looked over at who he was staring at, she whispered an apology. Zoey and Jenni were standing at the door, watching the short chaos unravel. Zoey was very confused but Jenni was laughing.

"What are you guys doing?" Jenni asked. No one said anything. "Cat got your tongue?"

"We… uh…" Antonio started awkwardly then he quickly put on a fake grin. "I was stopping Lauren from saying the special lunch I'm going to make for Zoey."

"Aw, Antonironi!" Zoey wrapped her arms around the gold samurai and kissed his cheek. "You're so sweet!"

"Yeah, very sweet." Jayden rolled his eyes. Jenni just made her way to him and put her tattooed arm around him.

"So, three couples in pajamas on a rainy day." Jenni smirked. "I'm bored. Let's play Spin the Bottle."

"Don't listen to her." Zoey shook her head.

"My ideas aren't that bad… we can attempt The Knife Game."

"Or we can be decent people and play a board game." Cody suggested.

"Nah… how about Truth or Dare?" Jenni wrapped her arm tighter around Jayden.

"I say we play a board game." Jayden loosened her grip with his own hand. "We can play Snakes and Ladders or Monopoly." He looked at Antonio and Lauren. "We can use our zords to our advantage. Lauren…"

"Simba likes you more." Lauren shrugged.

"Who's Simba?" Cody chuckled.

"The Lion Folding Zord." Lauren explained to her boyfriend. "You know, the big robot things that we destroyed the city with?"

"Oh. They change sizes or something?"

"You still have so much to learn."

* * *

At Mia and Kevin's house, the blue samurai walked into his bedroom carrying a diaper and baby bodysuit. Mia was kneeling at the edge of their bed, putting lotion on Breezie, who is laying on the bed. She had just given her a bath. Kevin sat above Breezie's head and put the items he had in his hands beside her.

"I got what you asked for." Kevin said. "That will cost you a kiss."

"Well, too bad." Mia joked. "I'm out of kisses."

Kevin chuckled at his wife's comment. He flattened Breezie's little hair down on her head. "Hey cutie. You're turning into a big girl already. It doesn't feel like two months."

"I know, right? It's a good thing we have six months clothes waiting to be worn in her drawers or we would be in trouble." Mia placed on their daughter's diaper gently and buckled up her clothes. "There we go! All squeaky clean!"

"Now, Daddy needs to go shower." Kevin stated.

"Is that what I'm smelling?" Mia giggled. Kevin shot a playful glare at her. "Just kidding, honey. You smell like… a man, a rich man with sexy cologne his wife bought him."

Kevin brushed off his shoulders with a smirk. "I don't know about the rich part but my lovely wife did buy me this expensive cologne the other night."

"Show off." Mia stuck out her tongue. She tossed Breezie's towel at him. "Can you put that in the laundry room for me?"

"Sure, I'm going down stairs anyways. I can hear my phone ringing."

Kevin took the towel and quickly jogged down the stairs. He made it to the kitchen. His phone beeped a few times, alerting him he got a missed call. When he saw who the call is from, he was a little surprised. It was Antonio. He didn't have any problems with Antonio but they rarely spoke on the phone to each other. Their communication relationship was more in person. So, Antonio probably had something exciting or terrifying to tell him. He hoped for good news and called him back.

"_Hey Kev!" _Antonio greeted him on the phone. _"I need to ask you a big favor!"_

"What do you need?"

"_I kind of got myself into a mess. Zoey invited me to a swimming champion's pool party. And I told her I know how to swim but I don't. Then, she asked me to race this guy at the party and… I said yes."_

"You're telling me this because…?"

"_You're going to be in flipping Rio de Janeiro next year for the swimming competitions in the Olympics! I need your help. Teach me how to swim. Please, amigo?"_

"When is the party?"

"_Next week Friday."_

"A week to learn how to swim? Hm, I don't know Antonio. I have students that have been practicing an hour with me every day for me for some time now and they're still not very good."

"_I know. I just really want to impress Zoey. I can't get myself to tell her the truth. Not now."_

"If you want me to teach you how to swim, you're going to have to come to my classes. I don't have time for a one-on-one session. I'm in training for the Olympics like you said."

"_A class full of kids? No way!"_

"Good luck at the party…" Just then, a loud crack of thunder roared through the house. Kevin sighed deeply. "Breezie is crying and Mia just called me. I have to go. See you Monday in class."

_My hair smells like fruit… what? -Sigh- Sorry for the late update. I have been busy this week with summer work (I have work in every class -_-) and other stuff. Yeah… review please! :D_


	19. Returning the Peace

_Hey there beautiful people! Guess what? It's been almost two months, and I still don't have a new laptop. So, I basically temporarily stole my sister's laptop. Lol. She barely uses it. Anyways…_

_New Chapter Time!_

Emily arrived at the grocery store at a pretty decent time. The rain had stopped but there were still some clouds threatening to let out some water so she brought her umbrella with her. She got a shopping cart and walked into the store. Before making it to the food aisles, she made a stop at the cosmetic aisle, where she surprisingly saw Zoey analyzing makeup products. She tapped Zoey on her shoulder, only to see her jump and drop her purse.

"Wow, you're clumsy just like me." Emily said, handing Zoey her purse.

"Yeah." Zoey replied, taking back her purse. "What's up? I haven't seen you in a while."

"Just… busy lately." Emily told her. "I haven't been in a good mood, I had a cold yesterday, I'm working overtime, and to top it off, Mike and I aren't really agreeing on something and it has us constantly fussing over little things." Emily shrugged. "But, hey, marriage isn't easy. How are you doing? I heard Antonio took you out Sunday."

Zoey smiled at Emily's casualty. "Our date went well. He's… different. Isn't your sister dating too?"

"I swear nothing is ever a secret in The Samurai Family." Emily muttered. "Yes, she's dating."

"You don't seem too happy about that."

Emily sighed heavily. "She dating a guy I don't like. His name is Jason Harrison. He used to bully me when we went to school together."

"Jason Harrison? Tall, dirty-blonde hair? From the countryside of town? Has a kid… possibly?"

"Yup, that's him. Know him?"

"I dated Jason in college. Well, it was just three dates. Turns out, he's not my type." Zoey explained. "He bullied you? I met him at a bully-free campaign."

"Really?" Emily asked, intrigued. "I never knew that's how long he has been doing anti-bullying stuff."

"He has." Zoey nodded. "Not too long after we decided to not continue dating, I saw him buying baby clothes with this girl named Angela. If he's dating Serena, then where's…?"

"Angela broke up with him _and_ their son, Alex. He's raising Alex on his own. No one has heard anything from Angela since New Year's." Emily leaned on her cart. "Saying it myself, it does sound like Jason turned around for the better." She looked at Zoey. "Have you ever been bullied?"

"Yes, my ex-boyfriend bullied me."

"Boyfriend?"

"Yeah." Zoey could see Emily was still confused. "Bullying comes in different forms. It doesn't just happen in schools or online." Zoey turned her attention to some eyeshadow palettes. "His name is… Joey. You know, Zoey and Joey? Cute, right? It was fun at first but then he started to call me names. I thought he was just joking and eventually, I thought I deserved it. He became very disrespectful. He treated me like trash."

"You were verbally abused?"

"To sum it up, yeah. Words hurt almost as much as a punch. And sometimes, he did… touch… roughly."

"Does Antonio know?"

Zoey looked around the aisle to see if Antonio was anywhere in sight. When she realized it was just her, she turned back to Emily. "No. Not yet. I don't want him to date me because he feels bad for me."

"I understand." Emily nodded. "One more question… Do you think bullies change?"

"Joey… I haven't seen him since he…" Zoey shook her head. "I don't think Joey changed. Maybe it's because of what he did to me. Jason was pretty cool when I met him though. Bullies can change. Sometimes it takes counseling or some other method, and it doesn't erase what they did, but they can change."

"Thanks."

"For what?"

"Just thanks." Emily pointed to the direction of the food aisles. "I have a special dinner to make my husband."

Zoey smiled. "Antonio's probably wondering where I am. We have six tummies to feed."

* * *

Later, Emily arrived home with her groceries. She gently set the shopping bags down in the kitchen and pulled her rain boots off. She tiptoed over to Mike, who was asleep on the couch after a long day at his dance studio.

"Mike?" Emily gently shook him. Mike opened his eyes for a second before closing them again and hugging a couch cushion. She shook him again. "I'm making your favorite."

"Great." Mike yawned out with his eyes still closed. "Wake me when dinner's ready."

"Help me make it."

"I'm tired, baby." Mike rolled over on his stomach. "Maybe next time."

"Please?" Emily pouted. Mike didn't answer. She climbed onto the couch and sat on his back. She hopped a little. "Please?"

"Ow…" Mike began to chuckle as he opened his eyes. "Your ass his boney."

"I'm not getting off until you…" Emily didn't get to finish her sentence as Mike bounced up so she would fall off his back. He playfully tackled her to the ground. "Not fair. You're bigger."

"Bigger is better." Mike smirked. Emily shoved him and stuck her tongue out. He just wrapped his arm around her and kissed her head. "How was work?"

"Good." Emily stared up at the ceiling. "I want to call Serena."

"Promise me you won't yell at her like the last time you tried to talk to her." Mike sighed, not wanting to get on the subject of Serena's dating choices. It always ended with his wife tearing up or him getting the silent treatment for the rest of the night. Emily was stubborn. She had a right to be, considering she's been bullied by numerous people, including Jason. And their actions are unacceptable. What Mike doesn't agree on is that she's being one-sided and hasn't spoken to Jason.

"I won't."

"Why do you want to talk to her all of a sudden?"

"I got… outside advice/opinions from people that haven't met Jason and people that have been bullied and vice-versa." Emily looked at her husband. "It's not that I don't…"

"I understand." Mike offered her a small grin. He knew what Emily was going to say. Sometimes "outside help" is better than someone close to the person in need. He picked up Emily's phone that dropped out of her pocket when they both fell on the ground. "Let's dial… or not."

Emily giggled at the coincidence. Serena's name was already lighting up on her screen while the whole phone vibrated. She answered her call. To her disappointment, Jason answered back.

"Why are you…?"

"_Please Emily, not now."_ Jason pleaded on the other line. He sounded like he was in a rush._ "I'm here, in the city, visiting for Independence Day with Serena. She was going to pick up a cake for us to enjoy just for the heck of it at our hotel. On her way to the bakery, she got into a really bad car accident. She's at the hospital…"_

Emily never heard the rest. She hung up the second Jason said hospital. She stood up immediately and started to put back on her rain boots. Mike watched her with concern.

"What's going on, Em?" Mike asked. "Where are you going? It's storming out."

"Serena's in the hospital." Emily told him. She grabbed the car keys off the wall and left the house.

Mike walked up to the door and locked it from the inside. He sighed. "What about my special dinner?"

* * *

Despite the stormy weather, Emily got to the hospital rather quickly without any problems. Unfortunately, it wasn't that way for her older sister. The yellow samurai opened her umbrella and jogged over to the Emergency entrance. Jason never told her where Serena is at specifically but judging by the tone in his voice, it sounded bad. She didn't even have to go that far. In the waiting area, Jason was seated with Alex asleep on his lap, possibly from the boredom of waiting in a hospital. Emily smiled slightly. It's… cute.

She took a seat across from them. Jason didn't notice, too focused on whatever is on the floor. She wasn't sure how to start a conversation with him. She hasn't spoken to him since high school when she left for Power Ranger duties. Luckily, she didn't have to say anything as her keys hit the floor, breaking the silence between them. Jason bend down to pick up the keys. When he looked up to return them, he was shocked to see Emily.

"You came?" Jason handed Emily the keys.

"Of course." Emily said quietly. She played with the keys in her hands. "I heard hospital and Serena in the same sentence. Two words that never mix well."

"Oh." Jason was only a sophomore while Serena was a senior in high school (Emily just being in the sixth grade) at the time but talk traveled fast around the small town so he did hear about her fatal sickness that nearly killed her. And of course, he heard more about it when they started dating.

Emily didn't reply. The two of them avoided staring at each other awkwardly. Then, Emily picked up a magazine and crossed her legs, getting comfortable in the seat. It could be while until she got news on Serena. Jason shifted his son's weight in his arms and gazed back at Emily.

"I'm surprised you're not mad." Jason said. "Not going to kick my butt?"

Emily looked up from the magazine. "Why would I do that?"

"Because…" Jason trailed off, realizing he didn't really have a reason. He was just joking.

"I would never stoop down to your level." Emily retorted.

"What level? Emily, I'm pass those days. And I'm sure you are too… I know you're a samurai."

Emily looked around to see if anyone was listening to their conversation before glaring back at Jason. "Samurais fight to protect. Plus, martial arts is… an art. Its art with a lot of thinking put into it like a painting or song lyrics. Not just random fighting because someone pisses you off."

"I said I'm pass those days." Jason repeated, trying to keep his tone down so he wouldn't wake Alex. "I don't fight just to fight anymore. I'm a role-model now. I don't want Alex to make the same mistakes I did. I especially don't want him making the same mistakes Angela made. Why can't you see that and forgive me?"

"I…" Emily swallowed a lump in her throat. "I'm still hurt. And… I will never forgive you. You weren't the worst of them all but still, all of constant name calling and hair pulling… I was just twelve. I was only in the sixth grade and I was very sensitive, fresh out of elementary. You, a sixteen years old boy, had no business messing with me. I went home crying every day."

"Sorry…"

"Save it." Emily shook her head. "But… for the sake of keeping my sister in my life and seeing her happy, I will accept your relationship with her." She smiled. "I also want to start over with you. Like you said, the bullying happened in the past. I need to live in the present. My loving family said you changed, so why not?"

Jason returned the smile brightly. "Thank you."

Just then, a doctor came out also smiling. "Miss Serena Pirtle just gained consciousness and she's doing fairly well. I would like to keep the visiting to one person though."

"You can go." Emily told Jason. "I'll keep an eye on Alex."

_Well, that escalated somewhat quickly. This chapter came out longer than I thought it was going to be. Haha, still pretty good. What do you think? Sorry for the late update, btw :-/_


	20. Sink or Swim

_20 chapters! Yay!_

_So… new update plan… again. I will try to update every Friday or Saturday… or Sunday… night (been busy -_-). That's not a promise though. Thanks for the reviews! You guys are so awesome for following this story even when my chapters are late._

_New Chapter Time! XD_

The following week, the hospital released Serena. She suffered from, fortunately for her, just a few injuries including a large cut on her forehead. Some of her other injuries were serious though such as a broken wrist and minor concussion so she was resting on Mike and Emily's couch, about to fall asleep from her painkillers. And speaking of Mike and especially Emily, she's staying at their place for the rest of the week with Jason and Alex.

Serena smiled to herself as she watched Emily laugh along with Jason in the kitchen. At the hospital, Emily apologized to her and told her about her short but memorable talk with Jason. She's glad to see her little sister happy with her again. She doesn't even want to think about what would happen if they separated because of someone she loves, or even worse, not surviving her car crash without a proper goodbye and making up with her one and only sister.

The Earth samurai gazed over to the ground. Mike was pulling out some Mario games from the television cabinet for Alex to play. Serena's still getting used to having a kid included in her romantic relationship. She has never dated someone with a child. But so far, things have been great. Alex was still getting over his mother leaving him, especially at such a young age, but she can tell he likes her and she likes him.

The last thing Serena saw before her eyes closed completely was Emily giving Alex a cookie. As far as she's concerned, it took a horrible car accident to get her sister back. However, it was worth it.

"What do you say when someone gives you something, little man?" Jason asked his son after he received his cookie.

"Thank you." Alex said to Emily. She smiled and ruffled his hair in return. "Um... Emily?"

"Yes?" Emily replied.

"Are you still mad at my daddy?"

"No, Alex." Emily wrapped her arm around Jason. Alex, satisfied with her answer, sat back down to choose a game with Mike. When he wasn't paying attention, Emily pulled Jason's ear down to her level. "If you break my sister's heart, I'll show you the samurai moves I use on nighloks."

"Ow…" Jason rubbed his sore ear after the yellow samurai nearly ripped it off. "I thought samurais never fight for fighting sake."

"Not when family is involved." Emily shrugged and skipped back to her batch of cookies.

* * *

Kevin rubbed his forehead in frustration as Antonio walked through the doors to the indoor pool – finally. Apart from being a few minutes late, Antonio hasn't done anything… yet. The water samurai can already tell this wasn't going to be very easy. He can tell Antonio also knows this isn't going to go well, judging by his awkward body language.

"Who's he?" Mandy, Kevin's assistant swim coach, asked while she walked out of the pool. All of their students were warming up for class in the pool, well, some of them. The rest of them, especially the girls, found interest in their new, older swim classmate.

"One of my idiot best friends." Kevin explained to her. "He wants to impress his new girlfriend so I promised him I would teach him how to swim if he came to class because I don't any other time to teach him."

Mandy just chuckled. "Cute."

Kevin rolled his eyes and picked up his whistle from around his neck. He gave it a quick blow when Antonio was getting near. "You're late, Antonio."

"I know." Antonio said. He jumped a little from the sound of the whistle. "Lauren was holding me up. She's going to Malibu today."

"Okay." Kevin sighed, letting the issue drop. He gestured to the young teen students in the pool. "Class, this is a friend of mine. He'll be with us this week."

"Um… Hi." Antonio waved uncomfortably. "I'm Antonio."

"Just get in the pool so we can get started."

"Is the water cold?"

"If you got here earlier, you would know." Kevin told him while he got into the pool with Mandy.

"But…"

"For the love of Zordon, get into the pool." Kevin glared.

"Yes sir!" Antonio rushed out. He used the pool stairs to get in, just making Kevin's glare harden. He shivered as he made his way to the far back. That didn't keep the hormonal girls from coming over though.

"I'll warm you up." A girl giggled. The gold samurai backed up and hugged himself.

"I'm seeing someone."

"So? She's not here right now." Another girl giggled.

"Ladies, stop flirting!" Kevin shouted, bringing back their attention to the front. "He's twice your age… okay guys, you should all know how warm ups start by now. Five dunks into the water."

All of the students began their exercise while Antonio stayed back, watching them repeatedly submerge their whole body in the pool.

"Antonio, honey, aren't you going to try?" Mandy asked him. The samurai shook his head. "I'll save you if you drown. Though, I doubt you will."

"I'm fine… I'll do the next exercise." Antonio told her. He could feel everyone's eyes stabbing his body. "I promise."

"Doggy paddle across the pool."

* * *

"MALIBU! MALIBU!"

"Shut up!" Jenni yelled with a smile, stepping out of the house. She's been hearing Cody and Lauren say that all day. She's trying not to be rude about it, hence her polite smile, but she's heard enough of it, especially today. The couple was planning on leaving to Malibu in just a couple minutes so they could get there before dinner.

"Jealous much?" Mia laughed, walking out with Breezie in her arms. Since Kevin is at work and Terry is hanging out with some of his medical school friends, she decided to spend the day at the Shiba House because she really didn't feel like staying home alone with Breezie on a nice California day.

"I've been to Bora Bora with an ex-boyfriend." Jenni shook her head as she felt herself smiling again. "Now, I've got Jayden."

"Aw, is romance making Jenni soft?"

"Me?" Jenni chuckled. "Nothing makes this girl soft… Okay, maybe Jayden has my heart right now."

"Spill! Spill! Spill!" Mia squealed. She jumped slightly, causing Breezie to also jump. She loved romance. Before deciding to work at a daycare, she has always wanted to be a wedding planner.

"No…" Jenni put her sunglasses on to distract Mia from her red cheeks. "Breezie, tell your mother to stay out of people's business."

"No, Auntie Jen." Mia spoke for her daughter. "This is another Princess Mia in the making."

"What if she ends up like Kevin?"

"Why would that be bad?" Mia paused and thought about it for a moment. "Never mind. Don't answer that… she already farts like him."

Jenni stifled a laugh and walked over to Lauren and Cody, who were already sitting in Cody's convertible. "Bye girl."

"Bye!" Lauren replied, putting on her seatbelt. Jayden gave her a quick kiss on her head and wrapped his arms around Jenni.

"Go away." Jayden stated teasingly.

"Have kids." Cody teased back.

_Not my best chapter. Maybe you think different? Review please! :)_


	21. Meet the Parents

_I'm not the only person that thinks of Lauren when I hear Girl on Fire, right? O_o_

_I do not own Girl on Fire by Alicia Keys and Nicki Minaj._

"We're here!" Cody said. After a relaxing cruise on the highway in the Californian sun, he and Lauren finally reached their destination in Malibu. It wasn't a long drive, considering it only took an hour and they're in the same state, but it was nice to be there.

Lauren picked up her tote bag from her seat while getting a good look at Cody's parents' beach house. She couldn't believe how big it was. She had to take off her sunglasses and blink a few times. Yeah… still a huge house, almost as big as the Shiba House. And like the Pacific Ocean wasn't enough, there was a visible pool hiding behind some palm trees right next to the house. When Cody told her about the beach house, she thought it was going to be a small cottage size. She doesn't care much about the size though, but she's kind of glad that she's wrong.

"It's not as cool as your house but it's nice, right?" Cody wrapped his arm around her shoulders.

"Cool?" Lauren gave her boyfriend a questionable look before turning back to the house. "This is beautiful. I really like it."

"I guess." Cody cocked his head to the side to see if the house would look any different to him. He didn't get much of a difference except a sideways house. "Maybe I've been here too much. Let's head inside."

Lauren nodded her head and followed him inside the house. They walked down an empty hallway, passing the kitchen, and eventually making it into the living room. There were three couches and a coffee table but no television, just a jukebox and a small radio on a shelf. There were also pictures of famous people from twentieth century such as Marilyn Monroe, Walt Disney, and Josephine Baker. Below the pictures, a large white piano with a bouquet of flowers on top of it were dominating most of the living room.

"My parents are pretty old school." Cody told her. He sat down on one of the couches and kicked up his feet on the coffee table.

"I can see that." Lauren said, eyeing the jukebox again. "Where are your parents, by the way?"

"Mom? Dad?" Cody called out. The house remained silent. He shrugged. "Probably not here yet. They're driving in from San Diego."

"Oh."

"Might as well get comfortable. Knowing my mother, she tends to be late… for everything." Cody chuckled. He turned to Lauren and could see that she was uncomfortable. He got up from the couch and made his way over to her. He took her bag, placed it on the couch, gave her a quick kiss, and gestured to the piano. "After you, my lady."

Lauren smiled and sat down on the piano stool. Cody sat next to her. He cracked his knuckles. He told Lauren that he could play the piano before they even went on their first date but he never played for her. It has also been a while since he played for any reason for that matter. Gently, he allowed his fingers to tap onto the keys, playing an upbeat sound.

"You're really good." Lauren smiled sweetly.

"Thanks." Cody smiled back without taking his fingers off of the keys. "I finally applied for a job at a big office company. I heard they pay a lot. I'm crossing my fingers I'll get the job so when I make enough money, I'm going to buy a piano. I never knew I missed playing it so much."

"Good for you, honey. I hope you get the job too. Do you know how to play any songs?"

"Hm…" Cody stopped playing. He stroked his chin in thought. Then he grinned. "I know a few. I think I know one you might like."

"Oh please, I don't know much songs with a piano in it."

"You'd be surprised." Cody smirked. He put his fingers back down on the piano keys and played a familiar tune. "Laur-en is on fire!"

Lauren blushed a deep red as Cody sang his version of the song, Girl on Fire. The red samurai mentally smacked herself for forgetting her favorite modern artist, Alicia Keys, plays the piano in just about every one of her songs. She never said a word though. She just listened. Girl on Fire is one of her favorite songs for obvious reasons.

"Nobody knows that she has a boyfriend." Cody continued his singing. "And his name is Cody. And we're going to let it burn baby, burn baby… Laur-en is on fire! Laur-en is on fire! Oh… oh… oh… She's just a girl and she's on fire."

Cody finished singing the song. He looked at Lauren and received a passionate kiss on the lips.

"Wow…" Cody said out of breath. "I should do that more often if you're going to do that."

"You aren't a very bad singer. Have you been faking at karaoke this whole time?" Lauren giggled. "Lauren is on fire? Did you make that up as you sang?"

"Honestly, when I found out you were a fire samurai, this song always reminded me of you. So, when I'm bored, I would make up my own lyrics."

Cody blushed as Lauren gave him another quick kiss on the cheek. Just then, bells started ringing through the house as two grey cats came running in. Lauren remembered Cody told her about his parents' cats, Royalty and Majesty.

"Hey girl." Cody picked up Royalty and petted her.

"Hello son!" Cody heard his father shout from the door. He walked in, struggling with a few suitcases. He wore a polo shirt and khakis. "Your mother has been driving me crazy – and not just in love."

Cody chuckled at his father's weak joke. He got up from the piano to help him with the suitcases, which also revealed Lauren. Cody's dad put his hands on his hips and laughed.

"Well, look at that." He said. "A girl."

"Shut up!" A woman dressed in a pink business suit shouted from the door. She came in hopping, trying to take off her pumps heels. "My little boy has a girlfriend?"

"Hi, Mr. and Mrs. Ezarik." Lauren stood up and shook hands with the couple. "I'm Lauren."

"Call me Linda, sweetie." Cody's mother told her, giving her a hug.

"I'm Joseph." Cody's dad added on.

"It's very nice to meet you both, Linda and Joseph." Lauren smiled. She could feel some of the butterflies in her stomach dying down once Cody's parents greeted her with so much hospitality. Everyone, including Cody, knew how nervous she was to meet his parents. It's refreshing to see how welcoming they are to guests.

"I told you guys I was bringing a girl." Cody wrapped his arms around his girlfriend.

"Oh, honey, I thought you said you were bringing a grill." Linda laughed at herself. She turned to Lauren. "You know, last time Cody had a girlfriend…"

"Mom!" Cody groaned. "I don't want to be embarrassed right now."

"So, how are you finding everything Lauren?" Joseph asked, ignoring his son and wife. "Did you get settled in a room yet?"

"No." Lauren shook her head. "We haven't taken out our suitcases yet."

"You don't have as much stuff as this woman, do you?" Joseph gestured to his wife.

"No, sir. Just a suitcase and a small duffle bag."

"Good, I can help you with that." Joseph said, taking Cody's keys from him without having to ask. He wrapped his arm around Lauren as they made their way outside. "You know who you remind me of? My sister, Laura. Boy, that woman is a piece of work…"

"Same old dad." Cody chuckled. His parents have always been so lively, especially to people. He turned to his mother, and gave her a loving hug. "I missed you, mom."

"I missed you too." Linda returned the hug. "How's the restaurant?"

"Great, that's where I met Lauren."

"That nice. So, that means she has money?" Linda smirked, knowing how expensive the restaurant Cody works at can be.

"That doesn't matter."

"I just don't want you working your butt off for another good-for-nothing..."

"That's harsh, mom." Cody sighed. "Lauren's different. She really is. I see myself being with her for a very long time."

Linda could see how serious her son is in his eyes. She smiled and gave him another hug. "Well, she's pretty. I'll give you that much… for now."

"Close enough." Cody replied. "Thanks, mom."

_Thanks for the reviews! They lighten up my day :)_


	22. Breezie's Smile

A few days later, back in Panorama City, Breezie's godparents were arriving at her house to take care of her. Kevin and Mia haven't been on a proper date together since she's been born. Of course, Mia would leave the house with Terry and their parents would care for Breezie or Kevin would go out with the other samurai guys but they weren't together, just the two of them. So, Kevin decided to take Mia out for lunch and even shop around a little with her.

Mike and Emily had no problem with babysitting for a few hours. Serena was getting better but her painkillers still made her sleep quite a lot. Jason also didn't have a problem with it because he's taking Alex to the park for lunch. If road conditions are okay, he and Serena planned on driving home tomorrow.

"Remember to feed her and burp her and change her diaper and cuddle her and play peekaboo and…" Mia rambled to Mike and Emily while walking around the house in a fast pace, fixing her scarf around her neck and spraying way too much perfume for their liking. Thankfully, Kevin walked in, casually fixing his shirt collar. He put his hand on her shoulder.

"I think they get it, honey." Kevin assured his worried wife. "This isn't the first time they've babysat, remember?"

"I know…" Mia pouted, feeling a bit silly. She picked up Breezie from her swing and hugged her. "Be good. No fussing."

"We'll be back soon, Aquanetta." Kevin kissed his daughter's head. He smiled when Breezie put her tiny hand on his mouth. He turned to Mike and Emily. "She's been interacting a lot. I'm so proud."

"I'm sure you are." Emily gently took her niece from Mia. "We're going to take good care of her."

"Like always." Mike wrapped his arm around his wife. "Have fun."

"We will." Mia said and picked up her purse. Kevin got the car keys and walked out with her.

* * *

In another part of town, Jayden found himself stepping into a hair salon. He's never been to a hair salon. He didn't need to be there either. He was one of those guys that allowed their hair to grow. If his bang or the hairs on the back of his neck needed trimming, he did it himself. Unlike Jayden though, Lauren did enjoy going to a salon every once in a while to treat her hair. She never used to have a specific hair salon to go to but she's recently been paying Jenni to do her hair and recommended Jayden go check out his partner's cosmetology skills.

The red samurai walked up to a desk, where a lady was typing on a computer. The lady just gave him a quick glance before going back to her typing. "Jenni is the third door down this hall, pass the sit-under hair dryers."

"Thanks." Jayden replied, not bothering to ask how she knew who he was looking for. He walked down the hallway. It wasn't the average salon. This salon was so big, it had multiple rooms. Every hairdresser had their own private department for styling hair and makeup. And for the big equipment, such as sit-under dryers and wash stations, the hairdressers shared them in a nice, large open room just like at an average salon.

Jayden noticed that none of the rooms had doors just like office cubicles but that didn't mean the employees couldn't decorate it. He found Jenni's part of the salon easily because she had colorful bead curtains hanging from her entry way. He chuckled to himself as the beads made a melodious noise when he pushed them out of the way.

"Hey, Jay." Jenni greeted him. She was casually sitting on a styling chair, messing with her phone. "Welcome to my working station where I make people pretty. It smells like cosmetic chemicals instead of food but this place is still cool."

"Trust me, I'd spend at least a day here with you and the fruity shampoos rather than the restaurant." Jayden said. "I have to take showers the minute I get home because the restaurant smells so heavily of fish."

Jenni laughed and stretched into her seat. "So… what look are you going for? The bald one? I think that would fit you."

"Jenni… I swear, if you cut all of my hair off, we're done."

"Mmhm, my first client of the day is already being a feisty diva." Jenni got up and ran her fingers through Jayden's hair. She stuck her tongue out. "Fine, I won't cut your pretty boy hair. I think I know a look you might like though."

She gestured for Jayden to sit and grabbed a magazine from a rack. She flipped through the pages quickly to find the page she was looking for before showing it to Jayden.

"What do you think?" Jenni asked him.

"I don't know…"

"C'mon, it'll be a really good look on you. And very little of your hair will get cut. I promise." Jenni ruffled Jayden's thick hair. "I will even use organic gel."

"I guess it is time for a change…"

* * *

"Peekaboo!" Emily tapped her niece's nose. Breezie sneezed back in response. "Ew!" The samurai wiped her cheek where Breezie sneezed. "You're never too young to learn how to cover your mouth."

Breezie just stared at her aunt with a confused face and stuck her thumb into her mouth.

"Troublemaker." Emily rolled her eyes. She turned to the couch to see Mike laughing at her. "Not funny."

"She's probably going to be better than our future kid." Mike told her. "My mom said that I was a bad child. That's why she didn't have another one."

Emily groaned. "We're adopting."

"Give me the little miss." Mike stretched out his arms and took his niece in his arms. "Your mother put you on a strict sleep schedule so napping is out of the question. What's your favorite thing to do?" He leaned his ear to Breezie. "Yeah… I like Dora too. Wait? What's that? The Power Rangers are awesome. Your parents are Power Rangers. They'll teach you how to kick butt one day. But luckily for you, you don't need to worry about saving the world. Your cool Uncle Jayden took care of the nighloks. They're never coming back."

Emily smiled warmly at her husband. He did give trouble, just like her mother-in-law said, but he also has a very good heart and is also very good around kids. It made Emily very excited for the future. And to top it off, she doesn't have to put her child in the war against the nighloks. Every past samurai knows how terrifying it is to be forced into war or watch their child in war.

"She's so quiet." Mike looked up at his wife.

"They don't do much at that age." Emily nodded.

She looked at Breezie. Her niece is… smiling. Her small mouth was open wide and her toothless gums were showing off along with her glistening eyes. Mia and Kevin never mentioned anything to her about Breezie learning how to smile. That means that this is her first time. Emily jumped from her seat and grabbed Kevin's camcorder. The blue samurai got the camcorder specifically for Breezie's milestones. So she turned it on and started recording.

"She's smiling!" Emily exclaimed happily. She pointed the camera on Mike and Breezie. "Smile, pretty girl! Yay!"

"Mia is going to be so jealous." Mike kissed Breezie's head.

_Thanks for the reviews! I appreciate it. Please note that I might not be able to update the weekend coming up. I will try but I have family over and it gets crazy in my house :P_

_Oh yeah! Before I forget… 100 reviews! Awesome! Kenzie got the 100th review. I think you got the 100th review on the prequel too. Yeah… feel special. I hope you feel better too :)_


	23. A Parent's Fear

_I'm back! Don't hurt me! Dx_

_Thanks for the reviews! Thanks for your patience, also! I told you guys I wasn't going to update last weekend because of family over. Yeah, good times. I was planning on updating last week Monday or Tuesday… that was an obvious fail. I didn't have access to a computer. Sorry._

_New Chapter Time! Hope you enjoy this chapter. Make sure to review :)_

Kevin and Mia arrived home about two hours and a half later. They had both received a text earlier that their baby girl smiled for the first time and Emily caught it on camera just for them. Although they wish they got the first smile, words couldn't express how happy and proud they were to hear that Breezie is interacting with her godparents. It was also just the beginning of so much more precious milestones.

The wind and water samurais walked into their house and found Mike and Emily on the couch cuddling and watching a movie. The younger couple gave them both quick waves before turning back to the television.

"Where's Breezie?" Kevin asked.

"Shh!" Mike and Emily glared at the blue samurai. To them, despite the television on, his voice sounded like thunder in the quiet house. They pointed to a baby swing not too far from where they were sitting, revealing Breezie covered in a yellow and green polka-dot blanket, fast asleep.

"Sorry…" Kevin said, lowering his voice. "How is she?"

Mia nodded. "Did she give any trouble?"

"She had was very fussy before sleeping but other than that, she was an angel." Mike told them.

"Of course you would say that, you got the first smile." Mia smirked.

"Jealous yet?"

"No, I gave birth to her." Mia rolled her eyes. "Okay… maybe a little bit jealous."

"Well, at least we still have twenty or so years' worth of milestones to witness." Kevin squeezed Mia's shoulder. He looked at Breezie. "And yes, I said over twenty. You're going to college little missy."

Emily grinned at her sleeping goddaughter. "You're probably tired of hearing this Breezie, but you have a very good family here to help you grow into a successful person."

"A big family as a matter of fact." Mike added. He got up from his seat and stretched. "We have a family waiting at home to feed dinner before they hit the road back to the country side tomorrow."

"Call us when you go get home." Mia reminded them. "We don't need another car crash happening right now. Serena's accident was enough for my developing maternal instincts."

"Yes ma'am." Mike called out from the door. With that being said, Kevin closed the door behind Mike and Emily before turning to his wife.

"So… want to watch the video?"

"Right now if not before." Mia raced over to the camcorder that was laying on the kitchen. She turned it on and easily found the video Emily recorded for her and Kevin. The new parents watched the screen proudly. But at a certain point in the short video, Mia ad Kevin's expression changed. Something that Mike said stuck out to them.

"I just realized…" Mia started her sentence. She trailed off, trying to formulate what she was trying to say in her head. "Or maybe it just now _hit me_ that Bre isn't going to have to face Xandred. We protected her from so much already."

"Imagine how our parents must me feeling." Kevin agreed. "My dad swallowed me in a hug for the first time in forever after defeating the nighloks. It's crazy, even though we put the Netherworld back in their place and moved on, our victory just keeps showing up in our daily life."

"Well, it's not often someone can say they saved the world." Mia sighed and closed the camcorder. "Can you bring Bre-Bre up to her crib? I'll be up soon."

Mia watched her husband go up the stairs with their daughter. When Kevin wasn't looking, she sneaked pass him and walked into their bedroom. From there, she quickly went into both of their night stands and retrieved the turtle and dragon folding zords. The two zords were… well, folded. And they have been folded for some time now. Not that the couple didn't love their zords, it's just that between all of the samurai, they were the least closest to their zords.

"Hey guys." Mia greeted the zords that began to unfold themselves. "Remember Bre? Do you mind hanging out with her? It will make me feel more… secure."

The turtle naturally found itself walking up to Mia's shoulder and sitting there. The pink samurai shook her head. "Silly."

She walked into Breezie's nursery with the dragon zord flying behind her closely. Kevin chuckled when the two zords rested by his daughter's feet.

"What's Squirtle and Stitch doing here?" Kevin asked his wife. She just shrugged.

"I just want them there right now. Squirtle and Stitch will be her zords when she's about seven years old anyways."

Kevin nodded his head but he could see his wife had a worried look in her eyes. He kissed her cheek. "Scared?"

"I know they're not coming back. I just can't help it but worry though."

"I worry too. It's natural." Kevin closed the curtains on the window so the light wouldn't bother Breezie in her sleep. "But Breezie is safe, sweetie."

"We won't let anyone ever hurt her?"

"Not even a hair on her head."

* * *

Back in Malibu, Cody and his mom were taking a stroll on the beach. Ahead of them, Lauren was talking to Joseph. They seemed to be having a good conversation from where he was watching because they were both laughing. He really wish he was speaking to them right now, though. The only sentences coming out of his mom's mouth was questions about Lauren. And they definitely weren't simple questions. He felt like he was being interrogated, making him regret not talking to them about Lauren sooner.

"How long have you known her?" Linda asked what felt like the fiftieth question.

"I have been seeing her since last year at the restaurant." Cody answered truthfully. "We never got together until late January. So… basically seven months."

"Who was she with at the restaurant?"

"Her brother… Mom, you're acting like you own the restaurant!"

"No, I'm not." Linda said simply. "Where does she work?"

"She… she doesn't have a job. And before you say anything… yes, she's in college. She's in law school actually."

"No job? Don't scare me like that again."

"What if she wasn't in school? Don't tell me you would accuse her of being a gold-digger."

"Never, Cody." Linda brushed off some sand from her skirt. "Just making sure the relationship is equal. How old is she?"

"Twenty-eight."

"Four years older than you!"

"No… three years older than me! Does it matter? It's not like we're teenagers."

"Did you meet her parents?"

"Um… y… yes."

"No, you didn't. You hesitated."

Cody stopped walking and looked at his mom. He gave her a sad expression. "Lauren's parents are dead."

"What?"

"This is why I didn't tell you about her earlier! Why are you asking these questions anyways? I'm almost in my mid-twenties. I'm a big boy. I can look out for myself."

"Lauren's parents are dead? Both of them?" Linda sighed when her son nodded his head. "I love you, Cody. You used to be my one and only baby boy. I can't believe how much you have grown. You're… a man. You left San Diego last year and…" Linda sighed again.

"I love you too, mom." Cody gave his mother a quick hug. "And I'm still your baby boy… and the only one unless you and dad are hiding a sibling from me. There's just times I need to be a man and fight for myself. I know what I'm doing. I _love_ Lauren. She _loves_ me back. I see us being together for a long time and I think she does too. Lauren… she said I changed her life. Not just her parents are dead, but nearly her whole blood-related family. Just three years ago, she reunited with her younger brother, who is twenty-four by the way. She taught me to be grateful for the things I have in life and live in the moment instead of worrying about the future all the time."

"I'm sorry." Linda embraced her son again. "Maybe I worry a little too much."

"I would be lying if I said I don't appreciate it." Cody chuckled. "Just calm down. I'm kind of scared of how you would react to a boyfriend if I was a girl. You're one of the most beautiful mothers any man would want and I don't want to see your hair greying any time soon."

"Don't be a kiss-up." Linda rolled her eyes and kissed her son's cheek.

"Mom!"

"You were asking for it."

"Not in front of the girlfriend…" Cody wined when he saw Lauren and his dad laughing at him. "How much did you hear?"

"Enough to know that you're a momma's boy." Lauren laughed and wrapped her arms around her boyfriend. Over Cody's shoulder, she gave Linda a smile. "Thanks for accepting us."

_I usually don't do this but… Antonio and Zoey will be in the next chapter! Yay! I just felt I needed to say that because their story has been on the back burner for a while now and… I miss them. Lol. Ignore me and review :P_


	24. Pool Party Race

_So… How you doin'? What? Don't give me that look. Explanation to my absence? What are you talking about? Oh… that… um… School started. I'm living that school life! Should I even go into detail? I'm pretty certain most of you guys know how that whole school thing goes. Anyways… I'm sorry, Classies. Would you like a hug?_

_PRSforever: I'm from Jamaica but I live in America now. :) And 1D vs. JB… oh dear, I'm going to start a fan war. I like both. Well, their music anyways. Actually, honestly, I barely listen to either but if there song comes on, I have no problem with it. I also watched both of their movies. Yeah… But the fact that you compared me to them, made me very, very happy because sometimes I don't think I'm that good. Thank you, darling!_

_As usual, thanks to everyone for the patience and reviews. Put your feet up, grab a bowl of cereal, and I hope you enjoy this chapter :)_

* * *

The next day, Antonio arrived at an unfamiliar house with Zoey but it's not like he unexpected it. Last week, Zoey had told him about her coworker's brother having a party and invited him to come along.

"I'm so glad you could come." Zoey said, parking on the side of the road. They were somewhat fashionable late so there were no spots for her to park in the driveway. "As much as I like my coworker, I would've felt so awkward here with just her and no one to talk to without getting into a conversation about work… Antonio, are you listening?"

Antonio's head snapped up. He was so consumed in his phone, he didn't realize that the other samurai was speaking to him. "Um… yeah?"

Zoey grabbed his phone from him and saw a picture of Jayden displayed on it. She smirked. "Are you cheating on me with Jayden already?"

"You wish." Antonio grabbed back his phone and closed out of the app he was on. The only reason he was looking at Jayden was because the red samurai was just sending him an updated picture of his hair.

"I like his new hairdo." Zoey commented. She saw a glimpse of Jayden before Antonio took back his phone. The fire samurai's hair bang was slicked back, exposing his forehead. It wasn't much but Zoey thought it looked great on him. "I told you my sister was a wiz. Jayden's been sporting his normal 'do since he was three."

"He just… doesn't care." Antonio chuckled. "Good for him, I guess. Lauren has to drag him to shop for new clothes though."

"Anyways… allow me to introduce you to some of my work friends." Zoey gave him a small smile and walked out of her car with him.

They went around the house, to the backyard, not wanting to deal with a door bell no one is going to answer considering the party is outside. Immediately a man noticed them, well, mostly Zoey. He put his drink high in the air and cheered, "Zoey's here!"

To Antonio's surprise, nearly everyone behind the party host cheered back. Zoey gave them an excited wave and picked up two cups of fruit punch and handed one to her date. "My friends are fancy."

"I can see that." The gold samurai nodded, starting to feel a little uncomfortable. Zoey noticed him getting tense and gestured to a man, the host, with sunglasses on, sitting by the poolside, talking to a tall woman.

"If I, a shy girl that's scared of people, see no problem, they're friendly." Zoey gave him a reassuring wink. "Let's meet Zac. I was so excited about you swimming, I started bragging to him about you."

"Okay, okay…!" Antonio laughed when the other samurai started dragging him to Zac.

"Hey Zo-Zo." Zac greeted Zoey. He looked at Antonio. "I see you moved on to a new model."

"He's not a model." Zoey rolled her eyes, a little irritated. She got along with Zac, mostly because he's her coworker's brother, but their relationship wasn't the best. He was always a little too arrogant for her taste. Especially since he did in fact model for her photography company once – not that she would tell Antonio though... not yet. "He's my date, and a great swimmer."

"Oh… you're the guy I should be looking out for." Zac extended his arm for a handshake. "Nice to meet you. We'll test your skills later." He chuckled.

Antonio shook his hand while faking a chuckle. He wasn't the type to get nervous but there was something about Zac that rubbed him the wrong way.

* * *

Unlike Antonio, Lauren was having tons of fun with Cody's family in Malibu. They weren't doing much at the moment but they do say that it's the little things that matter. Linda was preparing a midday snack while Joseph read a newspaper at the kitchen island. And a little ways from him by the back patio, his son and Lauren were goofing off at the piano. He had to admit, his son was a totally different person when he was with Lauren but in a good way.

"_I could write a song with my new piano…" _Cody sang. His hands were on top of Lauren's, dragging them from key to key. _"That makes you wanna grab your lover's hand."_

"Okay, love birds." Linda came over and placed a fruit salad on top of the piano. "I don't care how grown you are, no one starves in my home."

"Thanks, Linda." Lauren said. She took a bite of an apple slice. Linda leaned on the piano casually and took a bite of an apple too.

"So… Lauren, since you currently aren't working, what do you do for fun?"

"Mom…"

"Honey…"

"I'm not that annoying, am I?" Linda frowned at her husband and son's reaction at her question. Lauren just giggled.

"It's okay guys, I can take a little interrogation from my boyfriend's mother." Lauren assured Joseph and Cody. She turned to Linda. "I'm a martial artist."

"Oh really?" Joseph put down his newspaper, suddenly getting interested. He's been a fan of martial arts for as long as he could remember. "For how long?"

"Since I was a small child. It runs in our family. Every generation is taught it so I had no choice but I grew to love it."

"She has a huge dojo in her house." Cody nodded.

"Well, that's nice." Linda smiled, satisfied with her answer. "When I was your age, I was a dancer."

"Oh no, here comes the 'when I was your age' story." Cody rolled his eyes.

"Keep your eyes in your head before I do it for you, mister." Linda swatted Cody on the shoulder. Then, she innocently looked at Lauren. "As I was saying, I was a dancer. A ballet dancer. Once, I got the chance to be on Broadway. They called me Firework because of how tall and graceful my hops were…"

Cody excused himself quietly and sat across from his father. Joseph laughed and took a long sip from his root beer. "Consider this a good thing, son. You know your mother doesn't mean to steal her from you."

"I know." Cody grinned. "I'm glad really. Lauren was nervous about meeting you guys."

"Proud of you, son." Joseph went back to reading his newspaper. Cody raised a brow at his dad, wondering what he meant. "I'm just proud."

* * *

Antonio jumped in place and took in deep breaths. Zac went inside to get more drinks. He told Antonio that he when he got back, the race would begin. Zoey was watching her gold friend a few feet away while lying on a cushioned lounge chair.

"Don't you think you would warm up faster with a shirt on or something?" Zoey asked. "The evening breeze is starting to settle in."

"I'm fine." Antonio began to do push-ups. "Not all of us are always cold like you."

"I'm thin-blooded." Zoey frowned. She zipped up her sweater over her bikini and put her hoodie on. Antonio grinned at her gesture. She was wearing a pink Carebears sweater with ears sticking out on the hoodie.

"Aw, you look like a cute little kid."

Zoey stuck out her tongue and gave him the middle finger. Antonio laughed.

"You ruined it." Antonio stood up and drank some water. "I think your sister is rubbing off on you."

"Well, she is the older one." Zoey said, then she gave him a warm smile. "I'm like this when I'm comfortable with someone."

Antonio returned the smile. He was glad he and Zoey were at some level of trust. Now, all he could do was hope it stayed that way or even possibly improve. Based on the past month he has been with the samurai guardian, he's learned that she wasn't the most open person. She liked keeping herself locked in a shell. And to ruin his thoughts…

Zac came out and set fresh lemonade on a table before giving Antonio a smirk. Zoey sat up enthusiastically and gave Antonio a peck on the cheek.

"You'll do great!" She said.

"Hey everyone!" Zac tapped a glass with a spoon, quickly grabbing the attention of everyone at the party. "So… what type of party goes on without Zac Evans swimming a little?"

"Rematch!" Zac heard his sister say.

"Now, now… we have to give some other people a chance." Zac turned to Antonio. "Give it up for my man, Antonio!

"Uh, hi?" Antonio gave them a little wave.

"The pool is somewhat small… five laps sound good to you?"

Antonio sighed silently, staring at the _small_ pool. "Yeah, let's do it amigo."

"Alright." Zac took a whistle and two stopwatches out of his pocket and tossed them at Zoey, who nearly missed the items but still managed to catch them. "Would you do the honors?"

Zoey nodded. She knew Zac long enough to know how he did his swim races. She watched as he and Antonio got in position at the pool. When she saw they were ready, she blew the whistle and started the stopwatches.

"Go Antonio!"

_I will try to update soon but I make no promises. Have fun and stay classy. Please review :)_


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